Mudiay defends himself against Rovell's logo claim

Denver Nuggets' Emmanuel Mudiay took to Twitter Friday to defend himself against allegations made by ESPN's Darren Rovell pertaining to the Zaire-born point guard's symbol.

Rovell contends that Mudiay's shoe sponsor, Under Armour, has filed a trademark application for the logo.

Not so fast, says Mudiay, 20, who challenged Rovell's Tweet by posting a reply insisting that the logo is not in fact an image which reflects his brand.

And while it would be easy to side with the second-year pro a few months removed from his teenage years - despite the emblem's resemblance to a historically-unsavory image - a cursory search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office says otherwise.

As of July 11, Under Armour filed a trademark application for the emblem honoring one of its half-dozen NBA stars, based on the "interlocking stylized letter 'EM' with a star on each side; below is the stylized word MUDIAY."

If it's any consolation to Rovell, he wasn't the only party on Twitter to receive a brusque reply from the player that averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists per game in his rookie year.