March 10, 2000 SportsLine.com wire reports

CLEVELAND -- A federal lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of people who may wish to protest on Gateway Economic Development Corp. property concerning the Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo logo.

	Related Links: Forum: Is the Indians logo racist?
	T O P   N E W S

The American Civil Liberties Union and lawyer Niki Schwartz filed the suit on behalf of the United Church of Christ, which has supported the rights of American Indian groups and others to protest the broadly smiling, red-face logo as racist.

Gateway, the landlord of Jacobs Field and Gund Arena, prohibits such protests on its property.

"People wishing to protest on what should be considered public property have been prohibited from doing so and in some cases arrested in violation of their rights," said Christine Link, executive director of the ACLU of Ohio.

The lawsuit asks that the right to protest on sidewalks and plazas near Jacobs Field be upheld in court. Protests often are held in conjunction with the start of the baseball season. The Indians home opener against Texas is April 14.

Richard Owens, the Gateway executive director, said Friday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. He said the matter has been turned over to Gateway's lawyers for review.

The official site of MLB