London Rippers Legal Battles Could Cost Hundreds of Thousands

The newest Frontier League team, the London Rippers, are ready to take the field in 2012, but by that time, the “Rippers” might not be their name anymore. 

The Rippers have been taking a beating recently for their name, one that has similarities to London’s Jack the Ripper. London’s owner David Martin, who has been under fire from a variety of organizations since day one gave this explanation about the Rippers’ name, 

"The character's name is Diamond Jack, a frustrated hockey player who found he could 'rip' the cover off baseballs. Despite his talent, teams grew weary of the expense of replacing balls so Diamond Jack decided to form his own team in London, Ontario."

The city of London, obviously under fire to rectify the situation, met with Martin last week to come up with some solution. Ward 9 Councillor Dale G. Henderson commented on the details of the meeting as reported on by the Londoncommunitynews.com, 

“What we have heard is there is some movement out there legally. There may be a compromise going on,” Henderson said. “I think at this point, for us to wade in with our opinion doesn’t help the situation. I think it will play itself out . . . to the betterment of everyone.” 

Ultimately, the decision to move forward with legal action has been withdrawn, yet, if Martin, his team and the city are forced to act, legal fees could run in the neighbourhood of $200,000. 

This is definitely not how a brand new club should start off their inaugural campaign. Sure, their name is all over the news, talked about on every sports site imaginable and if they were in need of advertising they sure got it, but ideally this is not the right way. 

For the sake of the town and everyone involved, if this does go to court and a new logo is suggested, it might be in the best interest of everyone involved to take the path of least resistance. London and everyone that has ties with the team wants this be a success especially since there is a history of professional teams that move in and move out. 

Hopefully this gets taken care of quietly and out of the public eye, if that is even possible anymore. More importantly, the focus should be about putting a winning team on the field for the fans that are starving for a successful baseball team.

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

Devon is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals and Gateway Grizzlies, and is now an independent scout.