Terry Francona on Trump's call to return racist monikers: 'Not how it's supposed to work'

WASHINGTON – Whatever President Donald Trump might think about racist nicknames of professional sports teams, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona is clear on the subject.

Francona, who was on the front lines in Cleveland when the MLB franchise changed its century-old nickname to the Guardians after the 2021 season, said he was proud of ownership for making that change and called it a matter of nothing more than being respectful.

“I wasn’t the one that had to kind of have the (fortitude) to do it,” he said. “(Owner) Paul Dolan was the one who ultimately had to pull the trigger. I was really proud of him.

“Because I don’t think it was real popular with a segment of probably the older fans that (were) kind of like, I guess, Trump, that ‘Why can’t it be like it used to be?’

“My retort to that would be there’s probably a lot of people in this country that don’t want it to be like it used to be,” Francona said. “If you’re white, (you’re) probably just fine. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

Cleveland’s former nickname had been controversial for decades by the time they changed it heading into the 2022 season. The Washington NFL team changed its name to “Commanders” the same year after going two seasons without a nickname following the removal of the former nickname.

Trump’s recent social media post demanding the teams revert to the former names has become an especially big story in Washington – where the Reds are playing this week − because of funding for a new stadium that Trump might have power to influence.

Guardians president Chris Antonetti told media over the weekend the team has no intention of considering changing the nickname back to the previous one.

“We understand there are different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but obviously it’s a decision we made,” he said. “We’ve got the opportunity to build a brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future that’s in front of us.”

Francona, who managed in Cleveland from 2013 through 2023, also seemed to consider the matter settled when asked about it this week in D.C.

“I didn’t even care what they made the name in Cleveland. I really didn’t,” he said. “I was in on those conversations, and we were trying to be respectful. And for that I gave those guys a lot of credit.

“Nobody’s going to be happy with everything,” he added. “It’s never going to be the case. But what you’re trying to do is be respectful.

“Go ahead and let people complain. I don’t care.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Terry Francona 'proud' of Cleveland changing racist name