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Bryce Harper trademarks ‘That’s a clown question, bro’ and Under Armour is selling merchandise

Veteran move, bro.

Bryce Harper's legal team has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in order to gain ownership of "That's a clown question, bro." The saying, of course, has become a phenomenon ever since the Washington Nationals rookie responded to a Toronto reporter in a Q&A session who was asking if the 19-year-old would be interested in a postgame beer while his team played in Canada. The Washington Post's D.C. Sports Bog has the details:

According to Comcast SportsNet, Harper revealed on Thursday that Under Armour, with whom he has an endorsement deal, will be selling t-shirts with the phrase that is clearly destined to live on forever.

Now that's as American as baseball and apple pie. Also via the WaPo, the Auburn (N.Y.) Citizen details the origins of the phrase, which comes from Donn Roach, a fellow ballplayer and friend of Harper's brother, Bryan:

"That is one of his (Roach's) words. He has always used 'clown' as an (adjective)," Bryan Harper said.

As for how his brother used the reference in context: "That is some saltiness. A little bit of veteran swagger right there for Bryce."

And veteran thinking, at least by his advisers. As long as Donn Roach (and I really want to call him "Donnie") gets a piece of the action, this is the way it ought to be.

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