The renamed Cleveland Guardians reportedly failed to debut its merchandise reflecting the name change.
The gear was set to be available to retailers at 9 a.m. Monday but was postponed for an unknown reason, according to a report. The new release date has not been announced.
The delay comes after the Cleveland Guardians roller derby team filed a lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians to block the name change in October. The Indians announced it would change its name on July 23.
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“There cannot be two ‘Cleveland Guardians’ teams in Cleveland, and, to be blunt, Plaintiff was here first,” the roller derby team wrote in the lawsuit.
Having two teams with the same name in one city would cause confusion and hurt the lesser-known team’s ability to market itself, the roller derby team alleged. The roller derby team rejected a four-figure offer from the baseball team to buy the rights to the name, according to Cleveland.com.
“We have been and continue to be confident in our position to become the Guardians,” the baseball team wrote in October, responding to the lawsuit. “We believe there is no conflict between the parties and their ability to operate in their respective business areas.”
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The team changed its name to distance itself from Native American references and imagery some have called racist. The name change will be effective at the end of the 2021 baseball season.
Together, we are all… pic.twitter.com/R5FnT4kv1I
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 23, 2021
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Cleveland Guardians baseball team for comment but did not immediately receive a response.