Donald Trump caused a stir again for making a racist gesture during a baseball game. However, it is actually much more about a fundamental debate.
Atlanta – A baseball game in Atlanta sparked the debate about racism and cultural appropriation in sport in the United States. Specifically, it is about a certain gesture, the so-called “Tomahawk Chop”: the fans of the Atlanta Braves baseball team made it famous.
The gesture has been controversial for a long time, but two super celebrities attracted increased attention with their action. For the fourth game of the World Series in Trust Park in Atlanta, the former US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump were also present – and eagerly participated in the “Tomahawk Chop”.
Donald Trump participates in racist tomahawk gesture during a baseball game
A tomahawk is a battle ax-like weapon used by various indigenous tribes in the United States. The expression “to chop” means “to chop something” in German. The gesture – one arm is in the air and is jerked up and down in jerky movements – is intended to be reminiscent of chopping with a tomahawk. In addition, the “Tomahawk Chop”, just like the name of the Atlanta Braves (in German: warriors), alludes to the Native Americans who fought against their expulsion and extermination in the 19th century. Thousands of Native Americans were killed in the process.
While many fans enthusiastically participate in the exclamations and the gesture, this practice is viewed by many Native Americans as racist and degrading. A video recorded during the game that also featured Donald and Melania Trump was posted on Twitter.
Trump doing the chop pic.twitter.com/EWYJujgvtM
— Sam Ann 🐈 (@samannraven) October 31, 2021
Criticism of tomahawk chop gesture during baseball game – “dark part of our past”
Jeff Passan, an American baseball columnist, criticized the history-forgotten exercise of this gesture on Twitter. “This is not about being woke. It’s about acknowledging that an atrocity has happened here, about acknowledging a dark part of our past and saying that it is the right thing not to get involved in something that is completely ahistorical (…). “
In 2019, the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, Ryan Helsley, criticized the “Tomahawk Chop” after a game against the Atlanta Braves. Native Americans would be represented as “cavemen”, said Helsley, as the Huffpost reports. Appropriating Native American names for something unrelated to their culture “devalues us and how we are perceived in that way or used as mascots,” he said, according to Huffpost. Helsley is a member of the Cherokee Nation indigenous tribe.
USA: Cultural appropriation is a common problem in sports
The use of team names, logos, battle cries or mascots that trigger associations with the culture of Native Americans is a common practice in the USA and is a constant source of criticism. Many teams have already renamed themselves or changed their logos in the past.
The Atlanta Braves don’t want to change their name, however. In late 2020, they reportedly told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they would stand by their controversial name, according to the Huffpost. The use of the “Tomahawk Chop” is still being discussed internally. There has not yet been a clear statement.
Native Americans denounce racist gesture during baseball game in Atlanta
The top baseball boss Rob Manfred recently insisted that the regional Native Americans would support the “Tomahawk Chop”. However, this was quickly denounced by several representatives of the Native Americans.
The National Congress of American Indians issued a statement on Wednesday (October 27th, 2021) calling on Fox television not to broadcast the “Tomahawk Chop” during the World Series.
Atlanta Braves baseball game – Donald Trump apparently invited himself
Trump was back in the World Series for the first time since October 2019. Back then, he had attended Game 5 in Washington’s Nationals Park and was booed loudly when he was seen on the stadium’s video panel. According to the Huffpost, Trump made a statement saying he had been invited to the Atlanta Braves game. However, Atlanta Braves chairman Terry McGuirk told USA Today that Trump had notified the team of his participation.
In 2020 Trump announced that he wanted to boycott baseball after the US baseball league made a symbolic sign against racism with knees. The former president probably doesn’t care much about the current racism debate either: He is currently taking legal action against the release of archived documents in the case of the assault on the Capitol. (Anna Charlotte Groos)
