An Ontario judge has ruled that the Cleveland Indians will be allowed to use their full team name and logo in their playoff games with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The decision comes after lawyers for an indigenous activist sought to have a court ban use of the team's full name and its logo of a grinning cartoon man with red skin and a feather in his headband.
The injunction had been sought by Douglas Cardinal, who has filed complaints to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and Canadian Human Rights Commission on the matter.
Cardinal's lawyers had argued that the combination of the Cleveland team name and logo was racial discrimination and amounted to a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code and Canada's Human Rights Act.
They suggested the team could use spring training jerseys which didn't have the full name and logo during their games, while Rogers Communications, which broadcasts the games, could be ordered not to use the team logo on screens in the stadium where the Jays play.
But a lawyer for the Cleveland team had argued that Cardinal's application amounted to asking for censorship and suggested the court where the matter was heard wasn't the appropriate place for the issues raised by Cardinal to be decided.