so is that the plan, bp? get the racquet companies sued into oblivion so that we're all faced with either playing with woodies or not playing at all?
kids? how many kids are suing Wilson? the woman who instigated the class action lawsuit against Wilson is an adult. anyway, do you know any kids who are financing their own tennis gear? if so, I want names so they can teach my 2 year old their secrets! most of the kids I know using babolats or wilsons are doing so because mommy and daddy paid for them (and if that is the case in point, who has been victimized?). furthermore, look at any high school tennis team and you'll find one brand or another that seems to be dominant (the one i'm familiar with is babolat) to the point that all of the students on that team buy babs (or whatever) because they don't want to be the one to stick out. in my experience, I've seen many more cases of this type of influence than "I want to be like my favorite pro". dealing with why people buy racquets can be a murky issue and it is highly suspect to judge the impact of pros merely by the number of people who've piled on in this class action lawsuit because people can smell "free money" like sharks can smell blood in the ocean.
I think it's hilarious to read posts from people who think that people in general are actually so gullible as to need a disclaimer since we as a society are either so dense that we will believe any glossy picture or web banner placed in front of us (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary in some cases) or we are too lazy to research products before purchasing them. I understand that children and teenagers are highly impressionable and that much of the marketing is directed at them for everything from frozen food to toys to music to everything under the sun (because any marketing guru will tell you that children wield a heavy hammer when it comes to purchasing power even though they don't have jobs). so tell me, how specifically are the racquet companies marketing to kids? did Wilson photoshop Roger Federer into bikini bottom to hit tennis balls with spongebob? judging by how my 2 year old shredded the last tennis mag he got ahold of, he was not impressed by anything in it (he's a wozzy fan and he even tore up her pic).
if you're going to lobby for disclaimers, you'd better get busy. you're going to want them at guitar center too. if I had a grand for every Gibson sold near Christmas as a present for a teenager who wants to learn how to play guitar and has to have a les paul just because _________________ plays them i'd be as rich as, well, Gibson. btw, there's no way slash plays off the rack les pauls from guitar center (rumor is they're ghost build by someone who doesn't even work for Gibson so you're gonna need a big disclaimer). go ahead and compare the mark-up between a $200 tennis racquet and a $2000 guitar and tell me who the bigger offender is...
speaking of offenders, if you're going to sue racquet companies you set a false advertising precedent that leads you to sue your parents for sticking money under your pillow in the name of the tooth fairy (sorry for the spoiler, kids). there was no actual tooth fairy as your parents advertised. they deliberately and maliciously deceived you for the sole purpose of allowing you to re-live a fond part of their childhood. those filthy liars! don't forget to stroke them for the cost of therapy and psychological distress...
as a parent, if my son came to me wanting a $200 tennis racquet because _________ plays with it, I know that would be a great time to teach him about how things aren't always as they're advertised (if you've ordered sea-monkeys or x-ray specs from a comic book, you know this already). In fact, i'd probably demo it for him from somewhere and we'd take it out for a nice long hit and I think by the time it was over he would see that it didn't work for him. anyway, if that didn't work, i'd just tell him the tennis player he's supposed to look up to most is me so getting one of my hand-me-down (make that "match-worn") sticks should be the biggest thrill of his young life because that is one of the ACTUAL racquets I used (yup, i'm really looking forward to those teenage years....
). if he learns this lesson it will be inherently more valuable than a world's worth of disclaimers!