LeBron James’s company, Uninterrupted Inc., filed to trademark the phrase “Shut Up and Dribble” with the United States Trademark and Patent Office earlier this week, per USA Today.
The company, aimed at empowering athletes, filed for the phrase to be used in videos, social media posts, music, games along with “downloadable virtual goods, computer programs featuring footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories used online and in online virtual worlds” according to the USTPO website.
The highly talked-about phrase stems from 2018 when James and Kevin Durant spoke critically of then U.S. President Donald Trump on a podcast with then ESPN’s Cari Champion on Uninterrupted.
“The climate is hot,” James previously said. “The number one job in America, the appointed person is someone who doesn’t understand the people. And really don’t give a f--- about the people.”
In turn, Fox News’s Laura Ingraham defended Trump on her show, saying that James’s comments were "barely intelligible" and that the Lakers star needed to “keep the political commentary” to himself and “shut up and dribble.”
James responded to Ingraham’s comments in a media availability for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, stating that he was committed to his platform of discussing things that really matter in society.
“I will not just shut up and dribble,” James said, per the Associated Press. “I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important.”
Four years later, James has not shown any signs that he plans to “shut up and dribble.”
In 2018, James opened his I Promise School in hometown of Akron, Ohio, which provides free tuition, bicycles, transportation, breakfast and lunch for students. Then in ’20, he launched "More Than A Vote", a nonprofit aiming to fight Black voter suppression and encourage minority voter turnout across the nation. The organization brought more than 42,000 volunteers to work at various polling stations during the election.
If filing of the trademark is successful for James’s company, get ready to see the phrase a lot more, likely in a sarcastic manner.
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