Atlanta

Methodist Agency Considers Whether to “Punish Atlanta”

on October 20, 2016

The head of a major United Methodist denominational agency said the organization is discussing whether it should “punish Atlanta” because it serves as the home of the Atlanta Braves. The official described the city’s Major League Baseball team as racially divisive because of its name and cheers.

The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) recently moved its headquarters from New York City to Atlanta, Georgia, and held its first board meeting there beginning on October 19. GBGM General Secretary Thomas Kemper addressed the board on the morning of October 20. During his remarks, Kemper commented that GBGM’s new U.S. Regional Office had refused to hold its recent gathering about ethnic and racial issues in Atlanta, but had instead hosted the meeting in the nearby suburb of Decatur.

“We met in Decatur because our Native American brothers and sisters from their caucus said they would prefer to meet outside of Atlanta,” Kemper said. He further explained the decision:

You know that the Atlanta Braves is the baseball team here in Atlanta. And we as United Methodists – and it was affirmed in a resolution at the General Conference – we are standing up against mascots that are pejorative and negative for our Indian and Native American sisters and brothers.

He cited the Braves name as problematic, adding that fans chanted things that were “really very horrible” and “really a misuse of the Native American tradition.” As a response, he said when GBGM moved to Atlanta, the agency had “started conversations” about how to respond.

“So it’s complicated when you ask, ‘Should we punish Atlanta for the Braves?'” Kemper said. “So it’s an interesting question and it will be exciting to see: what does mission mean in our quest for justice and reconciliation when we address this issue in the years to come as we have moved to Atlanta?”

This is not the first time the United Methodist Church (UMC) has confronted sports teams that allude to Native American culture. As Kemper noted, the denomination’s General Conference in May 2016 considered a resolution that would have officially prohibited all “United Methodist-related organizations and institutions” – including church agencies and annual conferences – from meeting in cities that hosted sports teams with “Native American names and symbols.” Ultimately, the resolution was amended to include the following statement instead:

The United Methodist Church calls upon all general agencies and related organizations to be intentional about raising awareness of the harm caused by some sports teams through the use of mascots and/or symbols promoting expressions of racism and disrespect of Native American people.

At the time, Kemper expressed his support for the resolution. “It’s a justice issue, so we are very clear that we support all efforts to change these mascot names of sports teams,” he told the United Methodist News Service.

Had the resolution passed as originally constructed, it would have posed major problems for the General Board on Church and Society (GBCS), which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Redskins. The agency has resided in the United Methodist Building adjacent to the U.S. Capitol and the U.S Supreme Court since 1923.

GBCS board members voted at the agency’s board meeting in September 2009 to demand that The Washington Post stop referring to Washington’s football team as the “Redskins”. By that point the agency had already begun boycotting FedEx, since the shipping company owned the naming rights to the Washington Redskins’ stadium in Landover, Maryland. In 2014, GBCS and other religious groups sent a letter to Congress protesting that the team name received trademark protection from the U.S. government.

Perhaps the most comparable case occurred in 2006, when the UMC’s Commission on the General Conference reversed their decision to hold the 2012 General Conference in Richmond, Virginia. They did so after learning that the city’s minor league baseball team was named the Richmond Braves. The 2012 General Conference was held in Tampa, Florida, instead.

  1. Comment by Jeff Walton on October 20, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    They met in Decatur instead? Wow, big sacrifice. So I guess this means meetings in Atlanta will once again be acceptable after the new Braves stadium is completed in suburban Cobb County. Bizarre.

  2. Comment by Logan Dismuke on October 20, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    Really you don’t have anything else to do?

  3. Comment by Dan on October 20, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    I remember making the first post on the UMC web site about the Richmond Braves after Richmond was announced as the General Conference site. I wanted to see if they were serious about sports teams. What’s so hilarious is that by the time 2012 rolled around, the incompetent Richmond city council had lost the Braves franchise. The UMC could have come after all and rooted for the replacement team – the Richmond Flying Squirrels, unless that would offend those who identify as rodents :-). Maybe they could adopt the Flying Squirrels mascot, Nutsy. The name kind of fits these UMC boards.

  4. Comment by Nutstuyu on October 21, 2016 at 1:22 am

    How about the entire Northern Illinois Conference and it’s useless “bishop” Sally Dyck just disband over the state’s horrid mascots Blackhawks and Fighting Illini?
    #WesleyCovenantAssociation

  5. Comment by Skipper on October 21, 2016 at 9:57 am

    The Braves were so named to honor them, not make fun of them. He has important work to attend, but if he just has to boycott something, I would suggest PayPal. They have a same-sex agenda that includes punishing North Carolina by 400 jobs because the state protects women and children from men in their restrooms. I am pleased that GBGM has moved to a more balanced area. This should be reflected in their attitude in the future.

  6. Comment by Mike Ward on October 21, 2016 at 11:15 am

    Why won’t they just movie back to New York where they came from?

  7. Comment by apriluser on October 21, 2016 at 11:56 pm

    Has this organization earned the right to be heard? Who is GBGM to tell Atlanta what to do? They haven’t even unpacked their bags. What an ugly witness!

  8. Comment by Roger on October 23, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    The GBCS is an entity that tries and influences things that they don;t like. The truth is that all Methodist do not support their Political leanings. The only group that can speak for the U.M.C. is the General Conference. The attack on the Braves is just Political Correctness posturing without the approval of the General Conference.

  9. Comment by Dan Waller on October 23, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    There is a restaurant within walking distance of GBGMs new location that serves some of the best food in Atlanta. A good meal there, an hour of singing hymns together, and all of these issues would seem insignificant. Are folks really worked up over the name of a baseball team?

  10. Comment by RicoSuaveGuapo on October 24, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    You would think they would consider such “problematic” things *before* moving the agency to Atlanta.

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