WNBA's Cleveland Franchise Trolls Fans with April Fools' Day Photos Revealing Team Name, Colors

The WNBA's new Cleveland franchise celebrated April Fools' Day with an epic troll job that understandably got under the fans' skin.

The Cleveland team announced on social media that it will be known as the Ohio Wolverines, and its uniform colors will be the Maize & Blue that Ohio State arch-rival Michigan is known for. Team owner Dan Gilbert even got in on the fun with a long post that included the promo code "APRILFOOLS" for those who want to order a jersey.

To hammer home the joke even further, Gilbert called for the WNBA's new Detroit franchise to show the same solidarity by naming itself the Michigan Buckeyes.

"We're hoping Detroit follows suit with its WNBA franchise and embraces that same spirit of regional unity by naming its new team the "Michigan Buckeyes," as Cleveland and Detroit grow the game together from the shores of Lake Erie, the Midwest's own Mediterranean," Gilbert wrote.

Unsurprisingly, fans were up in arms over the possibility of an Ohio team paying homage to Michigan. Even after they realized it was an April Fool's joke, some still felt that Gilbert took things too far.

"All jokes aren't created equal and this should never be a joke 😭," one fan replied.

The WNBA announced last June that its 16th franchise would be established in Cleveland, and the team will begin playing in the 2028 season. Gilbert, who also owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, was named the team owner. This marks the first time a WNBA team will be in Cleveland since the Cleveland Rockers, one of the league's original eight franchises, ceased operations in 2003.

It can be expected that the Cleveland franchise has something better in store for its team name and colors after traumatizing its fans with Wednesday's April Fool's joke.