Atlanta Braves Virtue Signal In Team Lineup Announcement

MLB team Twitter accounts are on quite a run these days when it comes to displays of ideological purity.

Just a few months ago, the Yankees and Rays teamed up for some overtly political (and inaccurate) talking points to signal their extreme virtue when it comes to gun control:

Many team accounts also performed their contractually obligated duty to change their logos for Pride Month.

Now the Atlanta Braves have gotten in on the action with their lineup tweet for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Instead of the usual perfunctory, basic informational tweet simply displaying the day's lineup, the Braves announced they were celebrating the "Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians" by displaying the Cherokee word for team:

It certainly seems like Braves intention here is to ensure fans and sports media that their name and Tomahawk Chop tradition is not offensive.

Perhaps this is born out of a desire to avoid the same fate as the former Cleveland Indians, who replaced years of history and tradition associated with their brand by changing to the generic Cleveland Guardians.

If the Braves show that their name is actually respectful of Native American tribes, they'll be spared from the criticism and activism that forced the Cleveland franchise to change.

It's part of the rapidly accelerating trend of teams attempting to placate sports writers and Twitter critics who overwhelmingly lean left and express outrage over every perceived slight to their ideology.

Whether or not their virtue signaling protects them from further criticism remains to be seen, but for at least one day, the Braves let everyone know their ideology is in the "right" place.