An NBA legend is attempting to stop an NFL player who is just trying to build his own legend, from landing a trademark for their common nickname.
Hall of Famer George Gervin, who throughout his 14-year NBA career with the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls was known as the “Iceman,” is fighting to keep Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams from trademarking the “Iceman” moniker that Williams himself acquired this past season due to his late-game heroics and a celebration where he would hug his arms to his chest and make a “brr” motion, as if he had “ice in his veins.”
Williams recently filed four trademark applications related to the “Iceman” nickname, per the Chicago Sun-Times — for the name, a logo and two silhouettes of Williams throwing a miracle pass to Rome Odunze during the Bears’ playoff victory over the division rival Green Bay Packers. The trademark would cover a variety of goods and services related to the nickname, to be used in commerce.
Gervin, meanwhile, filed trademark applications for “Iceman” and “Iceman 44” four days after Williams submitted his own. Gervin noted in his paperwork that he first used the “Iceman” moniker for goods and services in 1979 — 22 years before Williams was born. The president/CEO of Gervin Global Management, Jerald Barisano, told the Sun-Times he wrongly believed Gervin had already trademarked the nickname and that the confusion stemmed from the death of a business associate.
“We are hoping the inspectors will do the right thing,” Barisano said. “All they’ve got to do is one Google search and they’ll see hundreds and hundreds of articles on the ‘Iceman,’ George Gervin.”
The trademark requests will be handled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where the process can take a year or more. The USPTO will review the requests and, if approved, publish them for a 30-day window during which third parties can oppose them.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for [Williams],” Gervin told the Sun-Times. “He’s already proved greatness and his potential upside is great. Like an ‘Iceman.’ But that name is taken. … All I’m saying is: Young fella, we’ve already got one ‘Iceman.'”
There are, of course, other instances of athletes sharing the same or similar nicknames.
Both Lawrence Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson went by their initials, “LT,” for instance. Both Roger Clemens and Raghib Ismail were nicknamed “Rocket.” LeBron James, Henrik Lundqvist and Felix Hernandez all had “King” attached to their names (i.e. King James, King Henrik and King Felix).
Ray Leonard and Ray Robinson were both nicknamed “Sugar Ray,” and Shane Mosley also carried the nickname “Sugar.” Alex Rodriguez and Andy Roddick were each referred to as “A-Rod,” while Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Carlos Zambrano both went by “Big Z.” And there are plenty more where those came from.
So Williams can probably still be referred to as “Iceman” without it becoming a major issue — even if it feels off to an older generation of sports fans, including Gervin. (There’s also the possibility Williams earns a different nickname at some point in his career, rendering this dispute moot. He’s only played two years, after all.) The real issue is the ability to trademark and profit from the moniker, and that’s where Gervin’s objections come in.
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