It is official. The name change of Cleveland's MLB franchise will be officially announced as the Indians becoming the Cleveland Guardians. The name change for this franchise was made formally in July 2022. However, the momentum of this potential name change was quickly stalled by a local roller derby team based in Cleveland. They challenged the franchise's use of the name because the entity also used a similar name: Guardians Roller Derby.

The Guardians Roller Derby filed a lawsuit against the newly-named Cleveland Guardians. They alleged that the team’s name change infringed upon their trademark. They also believed that the team’s name violated Ohio state law because the name change prompted deceptive trade practices. The roller derby claimed that there could not be two Cleveland Guardians franchises and that they had the right to the “Guardians” name because they had operated under that name in the city of Cleveland first. This action has delayed the name change for Cleveland's long-standing MLB franchise. 

However, both entities have agreed to a unique solution to settle this dispute.

A press release was issued regarding the resolution. It stated that the Cleveland Guardians and the Guardians Roller Derby team agreed to a scenario in which both franchises will be allowed to use the "Guardians" name. In other words, there will be two sports entities in Cleveland that will be allowed to use the word "Guardians" in their name. 

No other details of this action were made public.

The lawsuit by the Guardians Roller Derby team has thrown a wrench into the franchise's proposed plans for launching a merchandise sale. That launch had to be pushed back as a result of the lawsuit. Additionally, this action has caused MLB to delay updating the website to display the franchise's new name and logos.

Since 1915, the Cleveland Guardians have been known as the Cleveland Indians. However, the name was considered offensive to Native Americans. The move to change the name gained momentum due to the social justice movement in 2020. In December 2020,  the franchise announced that it would eliminate the offensive Native American imagery from its logo. They also announced that they would commence searching for a new name. 

It appears that the process is finally over.  

The name change will take effect on Friday, November 19th. Merchandise sales and souvenirs with the “Guardians” name will begin to go on sale.    

On March 31, 2022, the franchise will play its first official regular-season game under its new name against the Kansas City Royals.

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