Don't Steal Diana Taurasi's Identity

NEW YORK (AP) - Following the lead of international sports, the Phoenix Mercury have become the first WNBA team to put a sponsor's name on their jerseys.

Under the three-year deal with LifeLock announced Monday, the identity theft protection company's name will replace the "Phoenix" and "Mercury" across the road and home uniforms, respectively. The team's logo will appear above the "LifeLock" on the left side.

The WNBA is the butt of all sports jokes. But now, it really is a joke.

Renting ad space on a jersey is nothing new. There's an Aaron's Hardware patch on every Arena Football jersey. Even so, the team name is still visible. The Phoenix Mercury are still the Phoenix Mercury, but no one will know because there's a big ass LifeLock logo on their jersey.

Show Taurasi's jersey to someone who isn't a die hard WNBA fan (Shouldn't be too hard to find). Then ask who she plays for.

I know it's done in Europe, but it just ticks me off. Hopefully we're epochs away from seeing this in a major sport.

Anyway, what good does it do the players? I know that Danilo Gallinari (ROOSTER!!) used to play for Olimpia Milano, which was sponsored by Armani Jeans. Now Gallo can go into any Armani store anywhere and get free clothes. Will Diana Taurasi call LifeLock asking for free protection? And then will she get pissed when they don't know who she is?

--Max Caster