USA Today: Jalen Rose gets his wish: U.S. gymnastics squad to be called 'Fierce Five,' not 'Fab Five'

By Nick Baumgardner University of Michigan Sports Reporter

Posted on Wed, Aug 8, 2012 : 6:30 p.m.

Jalen Rose won't have to worry about anyone dubbing the United States' women's gymnastics team the "Fab Five" any longer.

Jalen Rose won't have to worry about the U.S. women's gymnastics team using the name 'Fab Five' any longer. The group settled on the nickname 'Fierce Five' on Wednesday.

AnnArbor.com file photo

According to a USA Today report Wednesday, the five gold medal-winning gymnasts have opted to go with the moniker, "Fierce Five."

"I guess (Fab Five) was taken by some basketball team or something," gymnast McKayla Maroney told USA Today.

That basketball team Maroney was referring to, of course, is the Michigan basketball team's famed 1991 recruiting class, featuring Rose, Chris Weber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson.

Earlier this week, Rose told 97.1-FM's Jamie Samuelsen he thought any usage of the Fab Five nickname for the U.S. gymnasts was "lazy journalism."

Rose further explained that he was a big fan of the team, but simply had a problem with the media applying the nickname.

The U.S. gymnastics squad will likely see a wave of endorsement deals in the coming weeks and months, and may choose to use "Fierce Five" in ad campaigns.

Any usage of the "Fab Five" name by the gymnasts could have been a problem, as Rose currently owns a merchandising trademark on the phrase.

Tags: Jalen Rose, Wolverines,

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Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.