Toronto mayor: Eskimos should change name as 'sign of respect'

Toronto mayor John Tory wants Edmonton's CFL team to change its name.

Tory, who served as the league's commissioner from 1996-2000, suggested Monday that the franchise currently known as the Edmonton Eskimos should rebrand, calling for the team to modernize as a sign of respect to the indigenous people of Canada.

"The people who have to step up first are the ones that actually own these franchises and say 'You know what, we recognize times have changed,'" Tory said, according to Shawn Jeffords of PostMedia Network. "'We recognize it's 2016 and that these kind of things can't really be defended anymore based on the basis of tradition.'"

Tory's comments come amidst a controversy in Major League Baseball. The Cleveland Indians brand - both the team name and its ongoing use of the Chief Wahoo logo - has come under fire during the American League Championship Series between Cleveland and the Toronto Blue Jays.

During Tory's tenure as league commissioner, he said the Eskimos brand didn't become an issue, but reiterated that a name change is past due and would reflect positively on the league.

"I would say it would be a very good step forward," Tory said. "In a province where there are a number of issues that concern our First Nations and indigenous people and that this would be a sign of respect and consistent with values in 2016."

Tory believes holding a contest and allowing fans to vote for a new name would benefit the franchise and its supporters, as well as the city of Edmonton.

"I think everyone wins out of that," Tory said. "The indigenous people will see that as a sign of respect. The community will be engaged in picking a new name for the team. The team will have, not to be mercenary about it, but the team will have all manner of new opportunity to sell new material that'll bring new life to it. It's all good."