Leafs' super fan censored by team sponsor in ugly legal battle

Yesterday, a popular Toronto Maple Leafs social media star has been muzzled by Molson, one of the Leafs' biggest sponsors.

Kurtis Stevenson, who goes by the moniker 'Kurtis from Alberta', regularly posts clips to social media of his next-level Leafs fan cave, usually accompanied by a couple chilly brews.

I mean... just look at this set up:

There are super fans and then there's Kurtis from Alberta... the guy is just on another level. His basement is like a Leafs team store!

Yesterday though, Kurtis announced that he will have to take a break from posting content online after Molson, the official beer sponsor of the Leafs, served him with a lawsuit. Molson claims that Kurtis has been using the Leafs' likeness to help promote a beer called 'Nother Beer' which violates trademark law and, as a result, they have served him with a 'cease and desist' order.

He made the announcement in a video that has since been deleted from social media, but thankfully I managed to transcribe the video before it was taken down.

“I got a call today … that I can’t make videos anymore unless I drink the beer of the sponsor of that team,” Kurtis says in his video yesterday.

“The beer company has flagged me, were going to send a ceased-and-desist order, or something, with legal action if I continue.”

“This is crazy, I can’t even drink a certain beer – it’s not even about my beer, I can’t drink any beer other than that beer with a certain team’s logo anywhere in the background,” he says, while looking upset and frustrated.

“I can’t wear a jersey, I can’t wear a helmet or anything unless I drink that certain beer.”

“This is madness” he says. “I’ve done nothing but support this team through and through.

“This is the little guy gets kicked in the teeth again … by all these big corporations and I won’t stand for it, so I’m not going to be bullied into drinking that beer because I’m told I have to. That’s the most ridiculous thing. I’m in the comfort of my own home in my basement doing nothing but celebrating this team.”

While I feel for Stevenson... he's being a tad disingenuous with his re-telling of things. While no one can deny his enthusiasm for his team, the fact is that he partnered with a craft brewery in Edmonton to make beer cans with Leafs-styled graphics and then promoted that beer into copyrighted Leafs footage full of trademarked logos. It's clear that he was trying to create the impression that this brand was actually a licensed product released by the Leafs and/or Molson.

I get that this sucks for him and that it might look like another corporate giant taking down the little guy... but he HAD to know the fight that he was getting into. If I were to create a Vancouver Canucks themed beer and blast it all over social media with Canucks highlights and logos in the background, I'd expect a phone call.

Again, I love with Stevenson stands for, but this was ALWAYS a fight that he was going to end up losing.