Angel Reese—the former LSU basketball superstar who now plays for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA—made headlines recently when she filed an application to register MEBOUNDS as a trademark for clothing and related items (Serial No. 99,234,613). “Mebounds” was a phrase used by some of Ms. Reese’s critics, referring to rebounds Ms. Reese grabs after missing a shot. Ms. Reese turned the tables on the trolls by applying to register MEBOUNDS. Ms. Reese is also selling merchandise bearing the word, and she announced that she plans to donate the proceeds from those sales to efforts to combat cyberbullying.
Ms. Reese’s trademark efforts are not limited to MEBOUNDS, however. Ms. Reese has applied to register several other trademarks, including her own name (Serial No. 99,072,036); REESEBOUNDS (99,245,044); and UNAPOLOGETICALLY ANGEL (Serial No. 99,073,040). Ms. Reese has applied to register these marks through the entity Angel Reese LLC. Ms. Reese previously filed an application to register one of her nicknames, BAYOU BARBIE, in 2023 in her individual capacity (Serial No. 97,772,645), but ultimately abandoned the application.
Ms. Reese’s applications reflect a growing trend of athletes seeking to protect their names and their brands through trademark applications. For example, current LSU basketball player and rap artist Flau’jae Johnson—who was Ms. Reese’s teammate before Ms. Reese joined the WNBA—has applied to register five trademarks: FL4U’JAE (Serial No. 98,807,603); FLAU’JAE THE BIG 4 (Serial No. 98,306,281); FLAU’JAE THE BIGGEST 4 (Serial No. 98,306,300); FLAU’JAE (Serial No. 98,306,273); and DASHI (Serial No. 98,306,288).
Ms. Reese appears to be pursuing trademark registrations more than many other current WNBA players, however. For example, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever appears to have applied to register the wordmark CAITLIN CLARK FOUNDATION (Serial No. 98,216,310) through an entity, CC22 Ventures LLC (#22 is Ms. Clark’s jersey number). That application appears to be the only pending application filed by CC22 Ventures, and it does not appear that Ms. Clark has attempted to register her name as a wordmark.
New York Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart appears to own two registrations for her nickname, STEWIE (Registration Nos. 6,714,857 and 6,755,120). An entity called Stewie, Inc.—which may be affiliated with Ms. Stewart—has also applied to register STEW YORK (Serial No. 98,913,435), a phrase frequently identified with Ms. Stewart since she joined the New York Liberty in 2023. Three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces appears to have applied to register EVERY FLAME TELLS A STORY (Serial No. 99,233,884), but abandoned an earlier attempt to register a stylized AW logo (Serial No. 88,933,285).
These are just examples, but so far, Ms. Reese seems to be more active than most current WNBA players when it comes to seeking trademark registrations. We will see whether Ms. Reese grabs any additional trademarks, and whether other WNBA players follow her lead.
