[Infowarrior] - Senator To NFL: Drop 'Who Dat' Claim Or Sue Me

[Richard Forno]

I rarely praise politicians, but a h/t to Sen Vitter for this.   --rf

Senator To NFL: Drop 'Who Dat' Claim Or Sue Me

David Vitter Demands League Change Position On Trademark

POSTED: 1:22 pm CST January 29, 2010
UPDATED: 6:27 pm CST January 29, 2010

http://www.wdsu.com/sports/22378675/detail.html

NEW ORLEANS -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter has jumped into the recent  
controversy over NFL claims that it has exclusive rights to the  
Saints' fan term, "Who Dat."

Vitter is demanding that the league change its position or "sue me."

Vitter sent a letter Friday to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, urging  
the league 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."

The NFL sent cease and desist letters this week to some local  
businesses selling T-shirts using the term, including the Fleurty Girl  
shop on Oak Street.

The senator said he's having his own T-shirts made that say, "WHO DAT  
say we can't print Who Dat!" for widespread sale. He demands that the  
NFL change its position or file a lawsuit against him.

"I am personally printing 'Who Dat' shirts and making them widely,  
commercially available. So if they are going to start suing people,  
they need to put me on the list," he said.

"'Who Dat' was probably first heard in New Orleans minstrel shows well  
over 130 years ago," Vitter said in his letter. "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."

Vitter said claiming ownership over such a ubiquitous Louisiana phrase  
is like trying to claim ownership of "laissez les bons temps rouler!"

Shop owners said they didn't want to violate any laws or league  
regulations.

"If it's not public domain, I just need to know 'Who Dat' gets the  
check," said Lauren Thom, of Fleurty Girl.
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