Cleveland Guardians Settle Lawsuit W/ Roller Derby Team, Both To Use Nickname
Cleveland Guardians Settle Lawsuit With Roller Derby Team ... Both To Use Nickname
There will be two Guardians in Cleveland after all ... the MLB team formerly known as the Indians just announced it's settled its lawsuit with a local roller derby squad -- and both will use the "Guardians" nickname going forward.
The baseball-playing Guardians made the announcement Tuesday ... revealing both sides reached "an amicable resolution" this week after the roller derby team had filed a lawsuit in late October.
In the suit, the roller derby team accused the MLB org. of trying to bully its way into jacking the roller-skating squad's longstanding nickname -- and wanted to put a stop to it all.
The derby team claimed the baseball team ripped off parts of their logo -- and then, according to derby team owner Gary Sweatt, offered "likely no more than fifteen minutes of annual team revenue" when settlement talks initially began.
But, the MLB team said in a statement things have changed in the last few weeks ... and both parties are now happy with each other.
"Both organizations will continue to use the Guardians name," the MLB org. said in its statement.
Terms of the settlement, however, were not revealed.
The Guardians baseball team officially ditched its Indians moniker following the conclusion of the 2021 season ... and has already begun taking down "Indians" signage at its stadium in preparation of its new "Guardians" era in 2022.