Cleveland will have two teams by the Guardians name.
The Major League Baseball franchise and a local roller derby club reached a resolution that was filed due to the use of the Guardians name and that will allow both to continue to use it.
On Tuesday both parties announced a cordial resolution, an agreement that allows the Indians to continue with the change to Guardians ”a change that was delayed for a year due to the legal issue and is not yet fully completed.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The altercation over the name is the latest hurdle in a long road to officially dropping the nickname of Indios, whose decision upset some fans and alienated others. The American League team had carried that name since 1915.
Next season they will be known as Guardians, a name chosen after a process of several years and that emerged after the national conversation of racist names and symbols.
Last month the Cleveland Guardians roller derby team, which was created in 2013, filed a lawsuit alleging that the team’s name change from Indios to Guardians infringes on its trademark and employs deceptive business practices, which is a violation of state law.
A major league team can’t just take the name of a smaller team and start using it, the lawsuit says. “There can’t be two Cleveland Guardian teams in Cleveland and, to be frank, the plaintiff was here first.
Now that they have solved the legal problem, the Baseball Guardians will be able to start selling merchandise. The team hoped to have the new jerseys and caps in stores before winter break.
This month, the team began removing the Indians name signs at Progressive Field.
.
