A legal challenge to the Indians name and Chief Wahoo
If an Ontario resident’s petition of the Canadian court system is successful, the Cleveland Indians may be barred from using their name and wearing any apparel bearing Chief Wahoo in their road games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Despite attempts by MLB and the Cleveland Indians to quell the hearing, a complaint filed by Douglas Cardinal against the reigning American League champions’ use of their team name and the Chief Wahoo logo will proceed to an actual court date.
According to Peter Edwards of the Toronto Star, counsel for MLB and Cleveland sought to have the case dismissed on a lack of jurisdictional grounds. Because Cleveland’s franchise is not only located outside of Ontario, but in an entirely different nation, they stated that the tribunal had no authority to impose standards on the team.
The tribunal not only ruled against that argument, but also decided that Cardinal does have standing to bring his complaint forward. Cardinal’s case is that both the name and Chief Wahoo are offensive and discriminatory. It seeks to bar Cleveland from using the Indians name or wearing any apparel with Chief Wahoo on it while conducting business within the province’s borders. That would include Toronto Blue Jays games.
No date for the hearing has been set as of yet, but the standing he already has been found to have essentially lays out his case. Cardinal is a person of indigenous decent and a baseball fan who wishes to attend games at the Rogers Centre (the home of the Blue Jays) without being subjected to the content he finds offensive.
MLB and the Indians will have several options in defense. Counsel for their parties could argue that no actual harm has been done to Cardinal or that the restrictions Cardinal is asking for amount to censorship. Additionally, if they could present other Ontario residents of indigenous descent who are Blue Jays fans and do not find the franchise’s name and Chief Wahoo to be offensive, that would be a strong defense. Finally, they could argue significant harm to their business interests in the province could result from such a censure.
For fans curious about how far-reaching the effects of the ruling could be, it appears that the only games potentially affected by the court would be road games in Toronto, for now at least. That’s the only MLB franchise in Ontario. If MLB should ever return to Montreal, which is in the Canadian province of Quebec, the ruling would not apply there.
If Cardinal’s case is ultimately successful, the Indians would theoretically have to create alternate uniforms and drop their team name for the road games in Toronto. It’s hard to tell whether or not that’s a likely outcome right now, and it’s possible that a deal like removing Chief Wahoo but keeping the team name could be reached through the tribunal. As the case moves forward, it’s definitely worth watching.