Minkah Fitzpatrick and his family received backlash after word leaked that he seeks to trademark “FitzMagic.” Buccaneers fans expressed their displeasure, believing the moniker belongs to their quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“Some very unnecessary comments directed toward myself and my family,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said Wednesday, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “It is what it is. People are going to speak their minds about whatever, especially when it’s behind a keyboard. It’s all good.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick was “upset . . . a whole lot” at the comments directed at his mother, Melissa, but the first-round pick said he doesn’t care what’s said about him.
“I kind of laugh at it, use it as fuel,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “If they want me to earn my nickname, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Fitzpatrick said he has not heard from Ryan Fitzpatrick or anyone representing the quarterback about Minkah Fitzpatrick’s Sept. 12 filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But Minkah Fitzpatrick, who said he has had the nickname since high school, will willingly give up the rights to the name.
“If he wants the name, he can take it,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “He’s a certified vet. Great football player. If he wants it, he can contact me or my people, and he can have it. If he wants it, he can take it. He’s just got to talk to me. I really don’t think it was as big of a deal as people made it out to be. Like I said earlier, if he wanted it, I’m sure he could have used it at some point.”