Yogi Berra has sued TBS for using his name in a “Sex and the City” ad. To wit:
… Berra, 79, contends that TBS improperly used his name in outdoor ads (on buses and subway kiosks) promoting the cable channel’s reruns of the racy HBO show starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Noting that he is a married grandfather and a “deeply religious man who has maintained and continues to maintain a moral lifestyle,” the former New York Yankee claims that he has been tainted by the ad, which references the loose lifestyle of “Sex” character Samantha, portrayed by Kim Cattrall. The offensive ads, Berra reported, sought the definition of the term “Yogasm.” One of the possible definitions listed in the ad was, “b) sex with Yogi Berra.” The correct answer was “c) what Samantha has with a guy from yoga class.”
Actually, looking at the document, the ad doesn’t seem to say anything about Yogi in relation to premarital, extramarital, or other forms of immoral sex - it just says “sex with Yogi Berra”. Which, presumably, must have happened for him to be a married grandfather, methinks. So while TBS probably should have asked Yogi for permission to use his name, as per New York’s civil rights laws, has his name really been that stained by its use in the ad? I guess we’ll let the courts judge. After all, it ain’t over till it’s over.