The ChathamKent IBL club announced it would be dropping the name after announced the "ChathamKent Blackbirds" won the communitywide naming contest Friday.
The newly minted Chatham-Kent Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) franchise is immediately dropping their recently announced "Blackbirds" name after learning the term held historical derogatory use.
The Chatham-Kent IBL club announced it would be dropping the name after announced the "Chatham-Kent Blackbirds" won the community-wide naming contest Friday.
"This decision was made following important community feedback surrounding the historical derogatory use of the term 'blackbird' and 'blackbirding' that may be harmful to some members of our community," the club said in an official statement Monday.
Historically, the term "blackbirding" involves to the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves, or poorly paid labourers, the statement said.
The IBL club said plans are in place to change the team’s name to "better reflect the diverse cultural history of the community."
Inter-County Baseball League (IBL) officials say there were over 600 submissions with more than 400 names suggested.
The five finalists on the list were revealed as North Stars, Legends, Wheat Kings, Field Kings and Blackbirds.
"Management and ownership thank our valued community members for bringing these details to their attention and wish to thank the club's executive for acting quickly to make a change," the statement concluded.