HEBRON, Maine — Harold Brooks thought he was covered once he changed the name of the Redneck Olympics to the Redneck Blank to appease the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Now, he says an attorney for the USOC has contacted him about his Facebook group, his email address and his use of the phrase “let the games begin.”
Brooks, who is organizing the Redneck Blank and who recently hosted the Redneck Rodeo, said he’s fed up. “At this point, I did what they wanted. They should leave me alone,” he said.
“I’m so tired of it,” Brooks said Wednesday.
After last year’s Redneck Olympics, the USOC notified Brooks that they owned the word “Olympics” in the United States and asked him to stop using the term. He changed the name to the Redneck Blank, a reference to the USOC’s censorship.
He has kept the same Facebook page, called “Redneck olympics, pig roast and music festival” since before last year’s games, as well as the email address redneckolympics@gmail.com. Brooks said it doesn’t make sense for him to have to change that.
In an email to attorney Douglas A. Winthrop, who is representing the USOC, Brooks said he would wait until Facebook told him to change the name of his page before taking any action.
There are several other Facebook pages that use the name “Olympics,” including the Redneck Games of Arkansas, which were originally called the “Redneck Olympics of Arkansas.” Their Facebook page is still called “Redneck Olympics of Arkansas LLC.”
In addition, Facebook hosts games with the word “Olympics,” including one called “Redneck Olympics” that involves flinging pigs and driving a monster truck.
Winthrop did not return a call for comment Wednesday.
Brooks said it’s just a case of bullying, and said they are just harassing him because he gave in to their earlier demand to change the name of the festival. “Now they think that because I gave in once, that their every beck and call, I’ll give in.”
“I live in the U.S.A., not communist China,” he said. “I wore a uniform that was American-made.” He was referring to the recent revelation that the uniforms of U.S. Olympic athletes were manufactured in China, and the fact that he served in the U.S. Army Reserves for seven years.
The Redneck Blank will include several events, including bobbing for pigs’ feet, toilet seat horse shoes, a pie-eating contest, a wife-carrying contest, a tire trot beer chug contest, a greased watermelon haul, a tug of war in mud and a new “mud flop” event. This year, the events will take place in the amphitheater he built for the Redneck Rodeo.
Tickets are $45 for the weekend, including camping, or $20 per day. Brooks is trying to court Maine comedian Bob Marley to perform at the Redneck Blank this year. He joked that Marley could write off the event on his taxes as research for his comedy.
As for Winthrop, Brooks said the attorney “Facebook stalked” him. In his email to the San Francisco attorney, Brooks invited him to send him a friend request the next time he’s on Facebook.
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And once again he is fighting a fight he cannot win.
Mr. Winthrop must want to win the gold in the a**hole olympics.
great….now Mr. Winthrop is going to come after you for creating the a**hole olympics (it would probably be a very competitive event seeing as there are quite a few a*holes around)!
The US Olympic Committee is a private organization, not a part of the government, so the comparison to “communist China” is off base, as the Constitution does not apply to private organizations.
The Constitution applies to every citizen of the United States.
No, it doesn’t; it applies to actions of the government, not private entities(with the exception of the 13th Amendment), as the Constitution is a contract between government and the people. On your property, or in your home, you can restrict what people say and do there. The government cannot.
Federal law also specifically states that the USOC holds the rights to the use of the word Olympics(the Amateur Sports Act of 1978), just as you or I cannot create a beverage with Coke or Pepsi in the name.
Just change the name to Redneck Uhlympics, ayuh.