BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is getting into the "Who Dat" fray with the NFL, asking the state attorney general to look into a possible lawsuit over the ownership rights to the popular New Orleans Saints phrase.
Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said the Republican governor's executive counsel contacted Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office Saturday about the matter.
The call came within hours of the Louisiana Democratic Party's governing body calling on Jindal to defend the "rights of the citizens of the state of Louisiana" to use the term "Who Dat" and the fleur-de-lis symbol.
"We've asked the Attorney General to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the Who Dat Nation from frivolous lawsuits. If it requires litigation, then so be it," Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said in a statement. "Who Dat belongs to the citizens of the Who Dat Nation, and no one else."
Some T-shirt makers in the state have been hit with cease-and-desist letters from the NFL demanding they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer of Saints fans. The NFL claims the shirts infringe on a legal trademark it owns.
The issue has outraged many Louisiana residents, including members of the state's congressional delegation, who say it's ridiculous for the NFL to claim ownership of a saying or symbol that predates the Saints, who will face the Indianapolis Colts in the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance Feb. 7.
The Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee voted unanimously to call on Jindal to ask the attorney general to file a lawsuit in the matter. The motion was approved by a voice vote of "Who Dat!"
"This is really a big issue," said John Ales, a Baton Rouge member of the central committee who proposed the motion. "That's just really the NFL overreaching right before the Super Bowl."
The National Football League said it's not trying to exclude all uses of Who Dat and the fleur-de-lis logo -- just when either is used in combination with other Saints trademarks, like their fleur-de-lis logo and uniform designs.
The chant -- "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints" -- is often shortened to "Who Dat" on shirts and signs and has been a mainstay at the Superdome since the 1980s.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
