by Mark Malek

Normally, most people out there know that the NFL gets their panties in a knot if you were to use any of their trademarks.  For example, the NFL owns all the names and logos associated with each of the teams, as well as the name for that season ending football game that occurs on a Sunday – I didn’t want to write “Super Bowl” for fear of being sued by the NFL!  Everyone who’s anyone knows that “The Big Game” is going to happen in a couple of weeks from now and that it is going to be between the New Orleans Saints and the team that beat my beloved Jets (just out of spite, I’m not going to mention the name).

We all know what New Orleans went through in 2005.  Katrina was a terrible tragedy and the one thing that kept that city going was The Saints.  I never really followed The Saints, but since they did so great this year, I watched a couple of games.  I always saw people in the stands with signs on it that read “WHO DAT” and I would hear the likes of Drew Brees rally his team by chanting WHO DAT!  I had no idea what it meant.  I did some digging and asked some folks about it.  I used to work with someone that I consider to be the biggest Saints fan ever.  Apparently, there is a little war chant that they have in New Orleans – “Who Dat Say They Gonna Beat Dem Saints.”  That’s a great chant and very original.  In my opinion, it belongs to the people of New Orleans… not the NFL.  I’m glad that The Saints have made it to the Super Bowl.  New Orleans and its great citizens need this.

Let me tell you what they don’t need.  The people and fans of New Orleans do not need the NFL coming in and claiming ownership to “WHO DAT.”  They don’t need the all powerful NFL coming in and trying to make a few more dollars more than their multi-billion (yes, that was billion with a B) dollar television contract.  That is why I was shocked to hear that the NFL was sending out some nasty grams to people who were making t-shirts with the “WHO DAT” slogan on it to celebrate The Saints’ success.  To be specific, folks were putting “WHO DAT” on T-shirts, in combination with the fleur-de-lis logo, which the NFL claims ownership in.

Normally, I would get behind the NFL’s vigorous efforts to defend its intellectual property.  After all, that is where the NFL makes a good portion of its revenue.  There is a reason why uniform jerseys cost over $200.  There is a reason why there have not been too many successful counterfeiters selling products bearing NFL logos.  That is because the NFL has, in the past, done a great job of policing its intellectual property to protect its value.  At the same time, and you have heard me preach this over and over again, just because you can flex your intellectual property muscle doesn’t mean you should.

I’m calling you out Commissioner Goodell and the NFL.  There is a fine line between defending your rights as an intellectual property owner and being a bully, and the NFL just crossed it.  This goes out to every intellectual property owner out there who is thinking about being the bully.  Do not plan on bullying folks using your intellectual property and expect me not to rip you on this blog.  The NFL needs to back down off this position.

I commend U.S. Senator David Vitter for sending a letter to Commissioner Goodell regarding this incident.  The letter is published on Senator Vitter’s website and you can join Senator Vitter in the letter if you would like.

Let the Saints and their fans have this NFL.  I will close with a reference to my favorite sports show – I cannot “protect the shield” on this one.