Are our rivals pulling a Dan Snyder?
The Cleveland Indians baseball club is proud to announce a new promotion: the Cleveland Indian-American Outreach Initiative. We recognize the value that cultural diversity brings to the Cleveland area, and are proud to reach out to our local Indian-American community to build cultural ties and respect. Cleveland baseball is all about inclusion, and we’re excited to show our respect for this important part of American’s tapestry.
Apparently a slate of games will be set aside as "Indian-American Days", in which the ballpark will serve traditional foods like curry, without beef or pork, and feature Bollywood sing-a-longs in the sixth inning. On these days, players will wear a special uniform modeled after those of the Indian National Cricket Team, with hats featuring an updated version of the teams’ current logo, which has already been dubbed Chief Raja by local sportswriters.
The organization also plans to increase its recruiting activities in the sub-continent:
We recognize the untapped potential of a billion hard-working people with a love of cricket, baseball’s cousin, and hope to curry favor with this important and wealthy segment of our community.
Presumably the hope is to foster more cultural exchanges like this one:
No word on whether the team is negotiating the sponsorship rights to Apu with FOX.