For many of Cleveland’s passionate, patient baseball fans, their team’s logo is a joyful connection to the past. It’s a reminder of the players from their childhood and from generations earlier. The logo — which was the centerpiece of a 28-foot-high sign that welcomed fans to Cleveland’s old ballpark for many seasons — is one of the few constants across the decades.

But the logo is also an ugly racist caricature.

That much is undeniable, whatever else may be true. It consists of a cartoon face with bright red skin, grotesquely large teeth and a bent nose, topped by a single feather. The character is named Chief Wahoo, and the team, of course, is the Cleveland Indians.