NFL Concedes It Has No Exclusive Rights To "Who Dat," Fleur-De-Lis

Louisiana Attorney General Drafting Document Outlining "Who Dat" Use

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell yesterday said the NFL is "conceding it has no exclusive rights to the fleur-de-lis and no exclusive rights to 'Who Dat' and offshoots of 'Who Dat,' and no exclusive rights to the colors black and gold," according to Ed Anderson of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. Caldwell said that he and his staff "spent an hour on a conference call with lawyers for the NFL over trademark claims to the slogan and symbol that have become attached" to the Saints, and that his office is "drafting a document to be signed by the state and the NFL by today outlining what is and is not allowable." He said that merchants "can sell products with the Who Dat phrase and the fleur-de-lis as long as they do not claim the items are officially licensed NFL items" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 2/2). NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail, "People can use Who Dat all they want if it doesn't include NFL and Saints trademarks. We explained that we would contact merchants only if a Who Dat item also contained NFL or Saints trademarks or if it is falsely claimed that an unauthorized item is affiliated with the Saints or NFL" (AP, 2/1).

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) yesterday said, "To me, it was the NFL being a thug and trying to intimidate small business owners into giving up what the NFL does not own -- which is rights to the term 'Who Dat' -- which is why I wrote the commissioner. I even said, 'This is going to put you on legal notice. I'm printing black and gold 'Who Dat' T-shirts, so if you're going to start suing people, start with me.'" Vitter said the NFL by Friday "had responded to me and my letter and they had basically completely backed down." Vitter: "They have some language that tries to allow them to save face, but the bottom line is they're admitting they don't own any claim to the term 'Who Dat.'" Democratic strategist James Carville said, "It kind of got away from (the NFL) and I think they very smartly came back and said, 'That wasn't what we were talking about.' But these professional leagues are pretty rigorous in enforcing these trademarks, but somebody went too far here" ("Outside The Lines," ESPN, 2/1). Vitter said of the NFL, "They don't have a legal leg to stand on. It was a ridiculous position to start with" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/2).

NFL BEHAVIOR NOT SURPRISING: In Philadelphia, Ashley Fox writes, "The NFL is very territorial about its brand, so I'm not really surprised to hear that league bigwigs are dropping the hammer on local entrepreneurs. ... While it sounds petty and ridiculous, it's pretty standard operating procedure for the league." The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER's John Gonzalez writes, "The NFL is trying to claim it owns a phrase that's been used by the New Orleans community for decades. Don't you find that even a little unsavory?" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/2).