The Guardians, Cleveland's MLB team, have settled a lawsuit that was filed by a local roller derby team over the naming rights to the Cleveland Guardians. According to the Associated Press, the two sides announced an "amicable resolution" on Tuesday and stated that both organization will use the Guardians nickname.
In September, the Cleveland Guardians roller derby team, which has existed since 2013, filed a lawsuit alleging that the MLB team's name switch from Indians to Guardians infringed on its trademark. They also claimed the MLB franchise employed deceptive trade practices.
"A Major League club cannot simply take a smaller team's name and use it for itself," the lawsuit stated. "There cannot be two 'Cleveland Guardians' teams in Cleveland, and, to be blunt, Plaintiff was here first."
Earlier in November, the Cleveland baseball franchise began removing the scripted Indians logo from Progressive Field as the transition to the new Guardians nickname began.
The Cleveland baseball franchise used the Indians nickname for over 100 years before deciding to change it -- a move that was rooted in the team name being offensive to Native American groups. As a result, the team announced that they would be going by the name Guardians following the 2021 season.
