A Bikini Basketball League franchise has ripped off the Seattle SuperSonics logo
As we've detailed in this space many times, including as recently as Monday, Seattle really wants another NBA franchise after losing the SuperSonics in 2008. If and/or when they get one, it stands to reason that the team will become the second iteration of the Sonics, complete with logos and franchise history, much as the new Cleveland Browns did 13 years ago.
So while the Sonics are currently nonexistent, they're typically considered dormant rather than defunct. If another team were to steal their look, it'd be in bad taste. And that goes doubly if said league were the Bikini Basketball League, a yet-to-launch organization "for Sexy Athletic Ladies [sic] from around the world."
Yet, as the logo comparison above suggests (via SportsGrid), the BBL and one its teams, the Miami Spice, have pretty clearly ripped off the Sonics' logo, just without the attention to detail and color that makes a logo work as best it can. It's ugly, and bad, and generally not the sort of thing that a reputable league does to another. Which should tell you all you need to know about the BBL.
Under normal circumstances, the NBA would have legal recourse to sue the BBL. However, because the Sonics' history technically belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder and owner Clay Bennett, the man who controversially moved the franchise, it's very unlikely that any lawsuits will be brought. Sonics fans might be mad at this logo theft, but I think they'd be a lot more upset if the league and men who killed their favorite team now claimed ownership of that legacy in order to make some more money. The Miami Spice logo is a bad look, but it couldn't compete with that sort of poor taste.
(via EOB)
