Following in the footsteps of the NFL's Washington Football Team, formerly known as the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians will drop their controversial nickname amid growing pressure. According to a recent report from David Waldstein and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times, the Indians will be changing its long-time nickname sometime in the very near future as a formal announcement could even come as early as this week.

With many clamoring for the American League Central ball club to change its name for quite some time now, Cleveland has been home to the Indians for the last 105 years.

“Following years of protests from fans and Native American groups, the Cleveland Indians have decided to change their team name, moving away from a moniker that has long been criticized as racist, three people familiar with the decision said Sunday,” wrote the tandem of Waldstein and Schmidt on Sunday evening.

It is also worth noting that The New York Times' weekend report mentions that there is no clear next step in this process past Cleveland announcing that it will in fact be changing its name from the Indians before the start of the 2021 campaign. Of course, a switch away from a given nickname always prompts a ton of logistical changes like settling on a new name, new uniforms, new equipment and so much more as the list truly goes on.

“Cleveland could announce its plans as soon as this week, according to the three people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the (Indians) matter,” added Waldstein and Schmidt.

On the field, Cleveland has found immense success over the years as the soon-to-be new-look ball club has become a mainstay in the American League playoff picture. While winning multiple American League Central titles as a result of the last several seasons, Cleveland even reached the World Series as the American League Champions before ultimately falling to the Chicago Cubs. However, Cleveland has not won a World Series since all the way back in 1948. Cleveland's championship drought is notably the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.