By Nick Roselli

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students around campus have mixed feelings about LeBron James and his ‘Taco Tuesday’ publicity stunt and definitely didn’t hold back.

“This is a testament to LeBron’s ego, he thinks just because he is one of the most influential athletes of all time that he can use that power to make even more money,” sophomore Caesar Douchet said.

The definition of trademark is “something that makes the holder’s services uniquely distinguishable from others with the same source.” Taco Tuesday has been a term that almost every Mexican food establishment around the country has used since 1971, before James was even born.

This is highlighted by Penn State student, Jordan Weinstock “Taco Tuesday is something that has been around even before LeBron was even relevant,” he said, further questioning James’ ultimate goal. “He has no right to trademark it and make money off of it. He has enough money as it is.”

This culinary celebration may have recently become commonplace in the James household, however, ‘Taco Tuesday’ is not a term necessarily linked to the James family.

While students like Douchet and Weinstock attacked LeBron’s character or intentions, others saw this trademark denial as another example of his influence on social media.

“LeBron isn’t just a player, he’s a brand. Everything he puts out on social media is seen by millions of people and has a huge impact,” junior Carlos Vanita said.

James’ global presence on social media seems to be a major factor of justification on this issue among some Penn State students. However, even with this influence it doesn’t seem to be enough to convince some these students.

Sports director of WSBU 88.3 FM and broadcaster for ESPN+, Joe Ceraulo, believes that this trademark attempt did not have any business incentive. Ceraulo thinks James didn’t expect to come out of this on top and that it was more of a way to associate himself with ‘Taco Tuesday’.

“At the end of the day, he’s making his money from basketball endorsements and salary… I don’t see a monetary incentive here,” Ceraulo said. “The bottom line is that Taco Tuesday has been around for years, whether it be at taco restaurants or in the middle school cafeteria,” he added.

If an actual taco restaurant couldn’t hold on to this trademark, why should an NBA player who posts a celebratory Instagram each Tuesday eating tacos get the rights to such a common phrase?