Now if that doesn’t take the bull by the horns
Published 12:14 pm Friday, May 22, 2020
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I have been covering sports for quite some time and ever since that I can remember the Johnson County Longhorns have always had the same logo of the Longhorn head that they have used for their uniforms and on their hats and shirts that their fans to wear to games.
And I have been around a lot longer before I started writing – some 31 years plus.
I was shocked to see recently that the University of Texas has taken issue with Johnson County’s use of that same logo and has threatened a lawsuit if they do cease using the logo that is in resemblance of the university’s logo.
Now, first of all, let me say I understand completely the importance of trademarking to prevent someone from taking a logo and putting that same logo on something that can be sold by using the same logo representing say Texas and trying to make money through the back door.
It would be like me taking the Atlanta Brave’s trademark ‘A’ and putting it on a navy hat and taking it to the flea market and sell several hats as Atlanta Brave merchandise.
I might as well pack my bags and be ready to spend some time in jail for doing that just like those people selling high-priced knock-off purses as the real thing.
But my question is after all these years, why is it so important that you file a lawsuit against a small Northeast Tennessee school that puts Johnson County with the steer’s head in maroon and white and not Texas orange and maybe a handful of people in the community wears the shirts to school activities.
And then how did the University of Texas all of a sudden identify that Johnson County was using a similar logo that was being used by the university that sits 1,189 miles from Mountain City.
Maybe COVID-19 gave employees at the university time to do searches on all schools using the Longhorn mascot to see if perhaps they were using the same logo.
I am not really for sure but however and by whatever means they used, Texas is now forcing the little school from the mountains of Northeast Tennessee to change up the logo or face a lawsuit.
I tip my hat to the school for taking the bull by the horns so to speak and making changes to the logo so they may keep being the Longhorns as we know them.
However, it’s sad that such a large money-making university such as Texas made such a big issue over something as small as the use of a steer head that didn’t even bear the same colors as UT because Johnson County colors again are maroon and white.
Even as I write this, I am still befuddled by how this even came to be an issue to begin with especially after all this time has passed.
Maybe all schools had better take time to re-evaluate their mascots to make sure that someone else hasn’t trademarked the logo.
It seems like there are too many other larger problems in the world to be worried by an image of a steer head on a football helmet but I guess money talks and everything else walks.
