WH: ‘Important to have this conversation’ about sports teams with Native American names and symbols

Hours after the Atlanta Braves were hosted by President Biden at the White House to celebrate their 2021 World Series win, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it was “important to have this conversation” about sports teams using Native American imagery. “We should listen to Native American and Indigenous people, who are the most impacted by this,” she said.

Video Transcript

- The president is hosting the Atlanta Braves today. Wondering if you or the president has any thoughts about some of the controversial, about the team name, the Braves name, the so-called tomahawk chop. Any thoughts on that?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So look, we believe that it's important to have this conversation. You know, and Native American and Indigenous voices, they should be at the center of this conversation. That is something that the president believes. That's something that this administration believes.

And he has consistently emphasized that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You hear that often from this president. The same is true here. And we should listen to Native American and Indigenous people who are the most impacted by this.