Where We Stand in the Name Game

It's a crazy world and somehow the name change of the Washington NFL team is on the back burner. For now.

Google

In a statement posted by Darren Heitner of Heitner Legal P.L.L.C, if the Washington franchise wants to adopt the nickname Red Wolves or Warriors, all they have to do is ask.

Heitner, a lawyer who specializes in trademark filings and disputes, was recently retained by Alexandria, Virginia native Phillip Martin McCaulay, who has become infamous for registering and applying for a number of “Washington” related trademarks, any of which could be the new nickname for the Washington team.

He has served as counsel for a variety of high-end clients, including free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown and NBA superstar Draymond Green. Now he represents McCaulay in what he hopes to be an amicable discussion between his client and team owner Dan Snyder.

Dear Mr. Snyder,

Mr. McCaulay has retained @HEITNERLEGAL to assist you and your organization should you be interested in rebranding to a mark owned by our client. Mr. McCaulay will gladly do whatever is in his power to clear a path for the Washington NFL team to rebrand itself. pic.twitter.com/bnJvJlZMTh

— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) July 15, 2020

This statement, which is pre-dated for July 17th, was shared on social media, and was mailed to Washington team headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia.

As seen in the document, Heitner asserts that “[McCaulay] has no intention to stand in the way of the Washington NFL team”. Instead, “he simply wishes to open the door to discussions so that, if the franchise is at all concerned about Mr. McCaulay’s trademark registrations or pending applications, the team is aware they have nothing to fear.”

What would be the goal of these discussions? Well, that’s up to you to decide. But from my perspective, this is the payday Mr. McCaulay has been waiting for. 

According to Heitner’s letter titled “Why I Chose To Represent The Person Threatened For Filing Washington Football Trademarks” found here, he portrays McCaulay as simply an avid collector with an “expensive habit”. In the document, he shares “McCaulay is a man with an expensive hobby of filing trademark applications and actually uses the marks in connection with the goods and services stated in the descriptions of the applications”.

He also disputes the narrative that McCaulay is a “trademark troll” and states, “After conducting my diligence, I learned that he is not a bad actor; he has no intent to cause harm to the Washington NFL team. Instead, he is exactly the type of person who requires strong representation to explain his position and interests.”

Here’s my take on it.

The Washington football team had their heart set on sharing their new team nickname a few days ago, the day they released their retirement statement. However, since they did not have the legal authority to share this moniker aloud, they had to keep it under wraps.

You would assume they have narrowed their decision to one or two names, and it’s highly likely that one of their desired choices are being held in limbo due to legal technicalities. My guess is one owned by McCaulay.

As seen in Heitner’s letter, popular choices such as the Warriors, Red Wolves, and Red-Tailed Hawks are owned, or at least partially attributed to Mr. McCaulay. Hence the hold up in the team adoption of a name.

You’d think this can be resolved with a “polite conversation” and an exchange of a hefty sum of cash, but there will be several legal hurdles the team must go through. And as we are seeing in the recent news that is shared all over social media, it may not be the most important legal case at the moment.

If the team does elect to adopt one of the names in possession of McCaulay, I’d expect the negotiations to go fairly quickly. And the team may want to do this sooner rather than later, to deflect some of the negative attention that has been brought their way. 

Sign up free, register and join us by voicing your opinion on our community pages and right below!

George Carmi is an editor/contributing writer to FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. He is a native of the DC metropolitan area and is an avid fan of DC Sports. A former journalism major at the University of Maryland, his focus is now in public education. His earliest memories consist of Darrell Green, "The Posse" and Super Bowl XXVI. Follow him on twitter @Gcarmi21