‘Blank jerseys?’: Portland Timbers scrub merch of DaBella logo after sponsorship fallout

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A rainy Portland afternoon at Providence Park didn’t stop some fans from still making a trip to the official team store, especially as staff removed all the new merchandise and jerseys with the DaBella logo.

“I felt so bad because he had just finished stocking everything the day before so I wanted to come in and see how he was doing because I knew he had a long day ahead of him,” Timbers fan Rocky Serna said.

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As news spread of the Portland Timbers cutting ties with their newest sponsor DaBella, following sexual harassment allegations against the CEO, fans were quick to react. Some say while they’re glad the Timbers took swift action to end the sponsorship, they still feel some disappointment about the whole situation.

“It is unfortunate that the Timbers’ front office finds itself in this position, especially given the recent history with violence against women, workplace conduct, and their use of an agency to source sponsor in DaBella,” Sam Prince, a Timbers 107IST board member, said.

They also hope this won’t happen again.

“Anything like this makes you feel a bit more cautious that vetting didn’t capture this,” Prince said.

While jerseys and banners with the DaBella logo were taken down around Providence Park, inside, the name could still be seen throughout the stadium. With a match against DC United just days away, the race is on to take down the name and get team member jerseys ready in time, replacing the ones used just once in the season opener against Colorado over the weekend.

As fans wonder what to expect on Saturday, they do have some ideas as to who should be the next sponsor.

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“For Saturday, we don’t even know if there can be a sponsor on the jerseys, so are we going to wear a blank jersey with just the names and numbers, not a sponsor? Do you wear a Dutch Bros warm up jersey? Printing the names and numbers isn’t an overnight thing. It takes a lot of time to iron on all those numbers and names,” Serna said, adding his hopes for the next sponsor. “Somebody local, obviously, doesn’t even have to be that massive, Tillamook or Dutch Bros even stepping up.”

One fan says that the team store is able to do jersey exchanges, but so far, the team has not announced any official plans for fans who recently ordered the new jerseys with the DaBella sponsorship logo.

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