Michael Kaplan, who co-owns a Minnesota-based branch of carpet cleaning company Zerorez, has sued the USOC over "who can say what about U.S. athletes" at the Rio Games, according to Jaime Delage of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The USOC prohibits businesses that are not official sponsors "from even mentioning the Summer Olympics or the team on their social media platforms." But Kaplan said, "We just felt bullied. We don't want to pretend we're Olympic sponsors, but we do want to be part of the conversation. It's everybody's conversation." Minneapolis-based attorney Aaron Hall, who is representing Kaplan, said that some companies have been "sued or warned by USOC, but so far no one has filed suit against the USOC to clarify the free speech issues." Hall said that Zerorez is "not seeking damages from the USOC; it's seeking declaratory judgment from the court, 'a declaration that Zerorez and other businesses can engage in free speech on social media without infringing on the rights of the USOC.'" Delage notes federal law gives the USOC "unique powers to license and control trademark terms beyond those granted to private entities" such as the NFL or MLB. The USOC is not government-funded, so it "uses licensing deals to fund Team USA." Hall said, "Our problem is that they've gone too far and prohibited all businesses from even mentioning the Olympics on social media" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/5).
