One week after requesting their most loyal and beloved fan, “Clipper Darrell,” remove the “Clipper” from his name, the Los Angeles Clippers legal team is officially back on the war path and declaring mutiny on anyone and anything that dares use their name without permission.
This time, they’ve targeted small business owner and Los Angeles native, Jesus Rodriquez. Rodriquez, 57, has owned a small barber shop called Clippers in the historic Koreatown district of LA for nearly 29 years. He is beloved by his customers as well as his 14 grandchildren that run in and out of the famous little shop that has become a local landmark. He actively participates in church gatherings, runs a soup kitchen out of his shop on Sundays, and was once voted “Most nicest guy in the entire world” by his community.
Rodriquez, a lifetime Lakers fan, was outraged when he received a letter in the mail from the team’s lawyers demanding that he change his shop’s name.
“I’ve lived in LA longer than there has been a team,” he said. “And last I checked, I actually clip things. What the [expletive deleted] do you clip in a basketball game? They have one good season in 50 years and all of a sudden they think their [expletive deleted] don‘t stink?”
Rodriquez tried to counter by offering free lifetime haircuts to all Clippers’ players and personnel, but he received a condescending response back that read, “No thanks, we get our hair done in Beverly Hills.”
