The Cleveland Indians announced the new Guardians name midway through the 2021 MLB season.
Yet here we are in November and the change has still not happened.
That is because of an odd lawsuit brought up by a local roller derby team in Cleveland that had been using the Guardians name.
Would this really prevent an MLB franchise from using it as well?
The lawsuit had dragged on for some time, but finally found a resolution Tuesday.
The Cleveland baseball team and local roller derby team have reached a resolution on the lawsuit. Both teams will continue to use the name Guardians.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) November 16, 2021
This was inevitable, even if it is still surprising it took this long.
Now the change can finally take place and the roller derby team likely got a nice payout to go away.
An Odd Situation
The name change should have taken place the day the World Series ended.
Merchandise should already be on sale and yet, the situation just got resolved.
Your Cleveland rundown
Baseball: Guardians
Roller Derby: Guardians
Browns: $100 million in guards
Basketball: 5’11 guards— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) November 16, 2021
This delay will not be a big deal in the grand scheme of the transition.
However, it is curious that ownership found itself in this situation when it had so much time to vet new names.
It is just another reason for fans in Cleveland to be frustrated with ownership, who has a reputation for refusing to spend much money to win.
The official switch to Guardians should be coming soon and naturally that is going to involve some backlash.
But in 5-10 years, it should all fade away as the name becomes an afterthought.
Young fans won’t know of the Indians name and that will continue to be true as time goes on.
This is a great lesson for sports teams either coming into existence or switching names.
Always be sure to check on the local roller derby teams in town, because they may find a good lawyer and squeeze some money out of the organization.
NEXT: 3 Reasons Guardians Must Extend Shane Bieber This Offseason