A public-relations backlash against the Atlanta Braves reportedly has them reconsidering using the "screaming savage" Native American caricature on their batting practice caps for 2013.

Paul Lukas of ESPN's Uniwatch, which recently broke what should have been a fun story about new designs on batting practice caps across the major leagues, says he hears "through the grapevine" that the Braves might switch to a different design because of negative feedback:

    If that happens, expect MLB to issue lots of revisionist-history talking points about how the Indian design was just “one option we were exploring” and that it was “in development but never finalized” and that the Braves simply “opted to go in another direction” or some such.

Don't believe it for a second, Lukas writes. The Braves, against all reason in this age, were actually going to put that logo back on their caps after a 24-year absence. As The Stew has pointed out in previous posts on this issue and related ones, there have been worse, more demeaning caricatures of Native Americans used in Major League Baseball. But that doesn't mean the Braves should go backward and use another logo simply because it has cleaner lines.