Cleveland Indians win Canada name row before Blue Jays game

The name and cartoon logo of the Cleveland Indian's baseball team have been criticised as offensive and racist

The Cleveland Indians can keep using their controversial team name and cartoon Chief Wahoo logo when they play baseball in Ontario.

An attempt to block their use by an indigenous activist who claimed they are racist was dismissed by an Ontario Superior Court judge on Monday.

His decision came hours before the US team played the Toronto Blue Jays in a play-off contest.

The judge said he will give his reason for dismissing the injunction later.

The Cleveland team is in Toronto playing game three in the best-of-seven ALCS series. The Indians lead the series 2-0.

Architect and activist Douglas Cardinal sought the injunction to bar the use of the Cleveland Indian name and logo for the American League Championship Series (ALCS) game.

Mr Cardinal argues they are racist and discriminatory and wanted the franchise referred to as "the Cleveland team".

The logo - a grinning, red-faced cartoon man in a feather headband - has specifically been singled out by critics as an offensive racial caricature.

• The baseball team that can't be named

Mr Cardinal was demanding the Indians, Major League Baseball, and Rogers Communications - which owns the stadium where the Toronto team plays and broadcasts Blue Jays baseball to a Canadian viewing audience of over a million people - be barred from using both in the province.

He has also filed complaints with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The Cleveland Indians owners have resisted pressure to change the team name.

The team has been criticised for years for perpetuating stereotypes about indigenous people with their name and brand.

Toronto Blue Jays' play-by-play announcer Jerry Howarth recently revealed he has refused to say the name "Indians" during his broadcasts since 1992.

In a statement issued before Monday's decision, team spokesman Curtis Danburg said: "The Indians are focused on competing in the postseason. We will not comment any further on matters that distract from our pursuit on the field."

The team owners have said that while it is "cognisant and sensitive to both sides of the conversation," it has no plans to make a change.

Apparel bearing the Wahoo logo is still popular with fans and will be present on the sleeve of the players' uniforms and on the baseball caps they wear during home games.

Opponents have been battling the use of the name and logo for years.

'Chief Wahoo' demoted

The Indians did demote Chief Wahoo to secondary logo status and have significantly minimised its use over the years.

The team took on the Indians name in 1915, reportedly reviving an old team nickname used when Louis Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot Indian tribe of Maine, played for the then Cleveland Spiders.

Other major league teams also criticised over their names include the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins, Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves and the National Hockey League's Chicago Black Hawks.