Court refuses logo ban
Canadian natives wanted Cleveland to halt name use.
An Ontario judge quashed a last-minute effort to attempt to bar the Cleveland Indians from using their team name and “Chief Wahoo” logo during Monday night’s playoff game in Toronto.
The legal challenge by indigenous activist Douglas Cardinal came hours before the team played the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series.
The long-standing logo, which appears on some team caps and jerseys, depicts a grinning, red-faced cartoon with a feather headband.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Tom McEwen dismissed Cardinal’s application Monday and said he would give his reasons at a later date.
Monique Jilesen, the lawyer for Cardinal, earlier told McEwen that the game could be played with spring training uniforms that don’t carry the name or “Chief Wahoo” logo.
“You could not call a team the New York Jews. Why is it OK to call a team the Cleveland Indians?” Jilesen told the judge, calling the team name and logo racist and against Ontario’s human rights code.
At least 27 lawyers representing the Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball and others, including the plaintiffs, attended the hearing, which was moved to a larger court room to accommodate the crowd.
MLB said it “appreciates the concerns” of those who find the name and logo “offensive.”
“We would welcome a thoughtful and inclusive dialogue to address these concerns outside the context of litigation,” the league said in a statement. “Given the demands for completing the League Championship Series in a timely manner, MLB will defend Cleveland’s right to use their name that has been in existence for more than 100 years.”
The Indians dropped Wahoo as their primary logo two years ago, switching to a block “C”, and reduced the logo’s visibility. However, one of the caps the Indians wear at home has the “Wahoo” logo on its front and Cleveland’s jerseys remain adorned with the Wahoo logo on one sleeve.
Cardinal’s lawyers had asked the court to bar the usage of the name and logo by the team, MLB and Toronto team owner Rogers Communications, which rebroadcasts the TBS game in Canada.