Former US President Donald Trump gave the controversial "Tomahawk Chop" yell, which Native Americans have criticized as a racist gesture, in support of the Atlanta Braves during game four of the World Series on Saturday.
Trump, who was booed when he visited a World Series game in Washington two years ago, made the chopping motion with his right arm in front of thousands of Braves supporters at Truist Park in Atlanta before meeting the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship final.
Trump was seated in a suite along the rightfield line and was joined in the scream by his wife, Melania. Native Americans have denounced the cheer as a racist affront to their culture and traditions, with some groups pushing for it to be retired.
After years of complaints, the Cleveland Indians withdrew their nickname and are now known as the Guardians, responding to racism directed at Native Americans.
However, among sports fans, the "Tomahawk Chop" is still a familiar gesture.
Native Americans in the Atlanta area are "fully supportive of the Braves' program, including the chop." according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
"For me, that's kind of the end of the story."
However, National Council of American Indians president Fawn Sharp slammed Manfred's remarks, claiming that the organization has repeatedly warned the Braves that "Native people are not mascots" and that "dehumanizing and harming rituals like the 'Tomahawk Chop' have no place in American society."
Former Georgia college football great running back Herschel Walker, whose quest for a US Senate seat from Georgia has been sponsored by the former president, joined the Trumps in the suite.
Trump nearly lost the state of Georgia in his re-election effort in 2020.
When his image was projected on the stadium video display board while he was president of the United States in October 2019, he attended game five of the World Series in Washington, and a chorus of boos erupted.
After the MLB All-Star Game was moved from Atlanta to Colorado in April in protest of restrictive voting rules established by Georgia state lawmakers, Trump called for a boycott.
