LeBron James is an excellent basketball player. His philanthropic work has earned him kudos within and without the world of sports. And he’s very fond of the phrase “Taco Tuesday.” So much so, in fact, that he recently filed a trademark registration for the phrase.
It’s not the most bizarre story to break in the last month involving sports and trademarks—that would be Ohio State’s attempt to trademark “The”—but it’s not far behind it, either.
Admittedly, James’s love for the phrase is pretty infectious: this clip of him doing a call-and-response with a group of kids is incredibly fun to watch, especially because James’s utter glee during the whole thing feels incredibly genuine.
At Deadspin, Gabe Fernandez observed that, over time, “the meals began to seem more like a marketing ploy to sell branded merch” than a celebration of the general excellence of tacos themselves.
It also looks like this trademark filing could beget a foray into another corner of media for the basketball star:
Even more annoying than the fact that this was filed in the first place is how this appears to have been done to start a taco-adjacent podcast—because there are clearly not enough of those in the world.
Will James face a backlash over this unexpected juxtaposition of delicious hand-held food and legal filings? Only time will tell. But if you’ve read through this whole complex affair and haven’t developed a massive craving for tacos while doing so, well, your strength is admirable.
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