Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams found himself feuding with podcaster Skip Bayless after recently attempting to trademark the nickname ‘Iceman.’
The former Heisman winner and first-overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft applied for several trademarks related to the nickname’s use on everything from eyewear to sweatshirts and even water bottles.
But news of the application did not sit well with San Antonio Spurs legend George ‘The Iceman’ Gervin, or one of his biggest fans, podcaster Skip Bayless.
‘I’m a Caleb Williams fan,’ Bayless wrote on X. ‘But I was a much bigger Iceman Gervin fan, and I’m offended Caleb and Co. are trying to steal George’s all-time great nickname.’
Williams responded on X, apparently taking offense at being accused of theft.
‘[I don’t care] about where your fandom stands,’ Williams wrote. ‘I was trying to give you and everyone else the benefit of the doubt. About knowing business and being smart about it. But I guess not. Foolish of me! Also words matter Skip Bayless.’
The former Heisman winner and first-overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft applied for several trademarks related to the nickname’s use on everything from eyewear to sweatshirts
As a long-time fan of George Gervin, Skip Bayless (pictured) took offense to Williams’ plan
Williams shot back in a social media post, that included a grab from an online dictionary
Williams then included the word ‘Steal’ in quotes and pasted a definition of the verb in the post.
But if Bayless was easy to dismiss for Williams, it might be harder to ignore the response of Gervin, himself.
‘I’ve got nothing but respect for [Williams],’ Gervin told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday. ‘He’s already proved greatness and his potential upside is great. Like an “Iceman.” But that name is taken…
‘All I’m saying is: Young fella, we’ve already got one “Iceman.”‘
Gervin actually finished his NBA career in Chicago with the Bulls before playing a few seasons in Europe.
Known for his graceful, delicate finger roll, Gervin was named to nine NBA All-Star teams, two ABA All-Star teams and earned four NBA scoring titles. He also made the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
There is only one ‘Iceman,’ according to George Gervin and his army of loyal fans
George Gervin led the NBA in scoring four times, earning himself the nickname ‘Iceman’
A similar situation popped up in 2019 when Tom Brady attempted to file a trademark for ‘Tom Terrific,’ a nickname more closely associated with late New York Mets legend, Tom Seaver.
Brady later denied having any interest in using the trademark for business purposes.
‘It’s unfortunate,’ Brady said in 2019. ‘I was actually trying to do something because I didn’t like the nickname, and I wanted to make sure no one used it, because some people wanted to use it.
‘I was trying to keep people from using it, and then it got spun around to something different than what it is. Good lesson learned, and I’ll try to do things a little different in the future.’