Louisiana Senator David Vitter has called out the NFL! He says they can't do that to the New Orleans Saints fans.
The NFL's perfect storm of public relations disaster continues to build! They seem determined to embarrass themselves further and dig this hole deeper and deeper. They simply don't understand who their customers are and how to treat them.
Sen. Vitter is printing up Who Dat T-shirts and demanding that the NFL sue him!
U.S. Sen. David Vitter today sent the following letter to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell protesting the NFL's efforts to claim exclusive rights to the term "Who Dat."
Before you check out Sen. Vitter's letter, go here and sign his petition to the NFL.
VIA FACSIMILE, ELECTRONIC MAIL, AND OVERNIGHT DELIVERY
January 29, 2010
Roger Goodell, Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Dear Commissioner Goodell:
I was stunned to learn recently that the NFL is taking the position that it owns the exclusive trademark of the term "Who Dat" and has even threatened legal action against some mom-and-pop merchants selling t-shirts using the term. I would urge you to drop this obnoxious and legally unsustainable position and instead agree that "Who Dat" is in the public domain, giving no one exclusive trademark rights.
This letter will also serve as formal legal notice that I am having t-shirts printed that say "WHO DAT say we can't print Who Dat!" for widespread sale in commerce. Please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me.
"Who Dat" was probably first heard in New Orleans minstrel shows well over 130 years ago. Much more recently, but before it was used in connection with the Saints, it was used as a rallying cry by St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. In the 1980s it was adopted by Saints fans in a completely spontaneous way. Only later did any legal persons, including the Saints and the NFL, try to claim it through registration.
Perhaps more significant than this history, "Who Dat" has become part of New Orleans and Louisiana popular culture. For the NFL to try to claim exclusive ownership of it would be like me registering and trying to claim exclusive ownership of the terms "lagniappe" and "laissez les bons temps rouler!?
Under Paul Tagliabue's leadership, the NFL was an unbelievable partner in helping us recover and rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Thank you again. We look forward to your dropping your "Who Dat" position so that this partnership can continue without strain or blemish.
Sincerely,
David Vitter
Junior Senator of Who Dat Nation
So what does this mean to the small businesses in the Shreveport-Bossier and the ArkLaTex area who have Who Dat merchandise or would like to produce and sell some this coming week? With Sen. Vitter challenging the NFL to sue him, he'll make fools out of them and they won't bother with anyone else.
So make your money while the sun shines!
To your business success!
© 2010 by Paul Elliott. All rights reserved worldwide.
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