USOC Threatens 'Redneck Olympics' With Lawsuit

The Redneck Olympics, held last weekend in Hebron, Maine, may be forced to change its name. Not the "redneck" part, the "Olympics" part. Harold Brooks, who held the three-day event on his land, got a call from the US Olympic Committee's legal division Monday telling him if he doesn't, he could face a lawsuit. The word "Olympics" is the property of the Olympic Committee, but Brooks says he's being bullied and has no intention of changing the name, although he may replace the "O" with a zero. "The 'Zero-lympics,'" he says. "Are they going to say I can't use numbers?"

"I'm not basing it on your Olympics; I'm basing it on the Olympics in Greece," Brooks told the caller. "I understand we can't use the word 'Pepsi,' but we can use the word 'soda.' The Olympics has been around for thousands of years." He argues that most of his 2,600 attendees would never be able to afford to attend the real Olympics anyway, and no one would confuse his event with the actual Olympics, reports the Sun Journal. A USOC exec explains that the money it raises by using the name pays for Olympic athlete training and transport, and notes that she hopes this case doesn't make it to court. (More US Olympic Committee stories.)