USA Today Sports MLB columnist Bob Nightengale recently made an important announcement regarding the baseball team known as the Atlanta Br*ves:

Nightengale writes:

While I can’t stop the tomahawk chop or make Atlanta change its name, what I can do is not acknowledge the nickname.

In recent years, I have tried to avoid using Atlanta’s nickname in columns.

I find it offensive, and after talking and listening to Native American leaders, friends and associates, it only fortifies my belief.

Bob Nightengale has held this conviction for a long time now, you see.

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Must’ve just been an oversight. Someone as committed as Bob to not condoning racism would never slip up like that.

We’re sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.

OK, that’s a little strange. What gives, Bob?

Maybe this’ll explain it:

Copy editors have occasionally changed it in my copy because until now this has been my private stance.

Several readers picked up on the name appearing in my articles during Atlanta’s World Series run, and after talking it over with my editors, I have decided to explain my stance here and make more of a concerted effort to keep the name out of my columns.

It probably would’ve saved Bob a lot of time if he’d just written “After concluding that calling Atlanta’s baseball team racist can boost my woke cred, I have concluded that Atlanta’s baseball team is racist.”

Exactly.

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Tags: AtlantaAtlanta BravesBob NightengaleracismUSA Today