CLEVELAND—Amid a wider push for sports teams to stop using offensive mascots and imagery for their teams, the Cleveland Guardians have reportedly been at the center of criticism this week for stereotypical depictions of the art deco community. “This is 2022, and if you’re still appropriating art deco culture for your baseball mascot, something is seriously wrong with you,” said Ilsa Dwyer, a curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and an expert in the art deco movement, slamming the Guardians for the use of classic art deco motifs like blocky geometric lettering and angular parallel lines in their logo. “Our culture is not your costume. It hurts those who have spent their lives steeped in art deco traditions to turn on the television and see ignorant fans in the stands dressed up as Guardians. They don’t know the first thing about art deco’s history or the persecution that the movement faced at the hands of modernism.” The Guardians have not been the only sports team criticized for their choice of mascot, with the NFL’s Washington Commanders also meeting widespread condemnation for appropriating military culture.