A shirt company cashing on the ever-polarizing Duke guard Grayson Allen by producing shirts with his image on them has received a cease and desist letter from Duke, according to a report from TMZ.
Duke retained the services of Olive and Olive, P.A., to handle the situation.
The firm sent a letter to Smack Apparel Company, advising them that “Mr. Allen has not consented, and does not consent, to such use; nor has he authorized any agent or other person to grant consent to you for such use,” and advising them that the of Grayson Allen’s image for commercial production is forbidden.
Via the Smack Apparel website, this is the t-shirt in question.
The owner of Smack Apparel, Wayne Curtiss, provided a written response to the letter by offering a bit of a compromise. His suggestion was to fly to the Durham/Chapel Hill area and poll 50 people in the area by asking, “Do you believe this shirt is sponsored or endorsed by either Duke University or Grayson Allen?” If more than five people say yes, he claims he will cease production and sales and also provide 25% royalty for all sales. However if not, his proposition is that the firm would reimburse Mr. Curtiss two thousand dollars for his time and travel expenses.
Something tells me this won’t end well.
