This afternoon, Kurtis Stevenson took to social media to share the disheartening news that he will no longer be actively posting to his platforms after receiving a cease and desist order from one of the Leafs' major sponsors.
Kurtis rose to prominence over the past few seasons posting videos of him cheering on the Leafs decked out in Leafs gear from his basement in Alberta that is full of various Leaf memorabilia. He has even made the trip out to Toronto for a handful of games the past couple of seasons.
Beloved by fans across the league for his organic support of the Leafs despite their playoff short-comings, many are coming to his defense on social media. However, a couple of people have pointed out that Kurtis has his own brand of beer where the can design features the colours of the Maple Leafs and that could be the cause of the action against him given that sponsors pay millions of dollars to use the Leafs' image and likeness to promote their brands.
Whether a resolution can be found between the parties remains to be seen, but as Kurtis said in his video, he won't be posting videos for the foreseeable future. It is unfortunate that the big corporations have once again attacked the 'little guy', but with the amount of support Kurtis is receiving online, and backlash the Leafs are receiving, there may be some sort of agreement sooner than later.
We'll continue to monitor this situation and provide any updates we come across. It's clear that not all of the facts are public yet, but we hope to have some clarity in the coming days and weeks.
POLL | ||
5 NOVEMBRE | 1325 ANSWERS Maple Leafs and Major Sponsor Allegedly Take Legal Action Against Superfan Do you think the Leafs' sponsor took this too far? | ||
Absolutely | 699 | 52.8 % |
Yes, but legally the are within their right | 466 | 35.2 % |
No, he crossed the line | 160 | 12.1 % |
List of polls |