A company co-founded by NBA superstar Lebron James has filed to trademark the phrase “Shut up and dribble.”
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham coined the phrase while criticizing Mr. James for anti-Trump political statements he made in February 2018.
Now, Mr. James seeks to plaster the appropriated slogan on merchandise in the metaverse with his company Uninterrupted Inc.
The trademark registration, filed on July 18 with the Patent and Trademark Office, mentions an array of virtual-world goods that Mr. James wants to put “Shut up and dribble” on, including accessories, virtual clothing and memorabilia.
Entertainment, including social media posts, podcasts and movies, is also included in the filing.
The filing also mentions “Clothing, namely, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and jackets,” without mentioning that those items would be sold virtually.
That suggests that the “Shut up and dribble” expression may be applied to real-world merchandise as well.
In 2018, Ms. Ingraham pointed out that Mr. James is the person “who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” and told him to “Keep the political comments to yourselves. Shut up and dribble.”
At the time, Mr. James shot back by saying, “I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth.”
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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