When Terrell Suggs first announced he was “Sizzle” from “Ball So Hard University” on Sunday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker inadvertently started a new brand for himself as well as a trademark headache. During the broadcast of a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Suggs used his lineup announcement to claim he attended the fictitious Ball So Hard University (BSHU), a reference to the Jay-Z and Kanye West song “Niggas in Paris” from their recent album “Watch the Throne.” What started as a joke quickly became a new marketing boon.
Within hours of Suggs creating BSHU, merchandise started to appear online. Three days later, Brian Bussells filed for the trademark “Ball So Hard University” and started to sell clothing. Even Suggs appeared in a press conference wearing a Bussells shirt and acknowledged he had nothing to do with the selling of the shirt. Then, about a week and a half after Suggs first created the name, Suggs’ corporation, Team Sizzle Films, Incorporated, filed five trademark applications for the same trademark as Bussells. Since the filings, cease-and-desists letters have been sent from Suggs’ representatives to others selling BSHU merchandise, although it is not clear if Bussells received one of these letters.
It could be up to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to determine if Bussells or Suggs has priority to the Ball So Hard University trademark. Bussells may be able to prevent Suggs from using a mark Suggs himself coined if the Trademark Office honors Bussells’ earlier filing. However, Suggs’ trademark attorney has suggested arguing that BSHU is apart of his public persona and Bussells’ use of the mark would confuse consumers into believing Suggs is associated with Bussells’ venture. Suggs and Bussells will turn this gridiron fight to the USPTO to find out who will be the mascot of this University.
