Utah Jazz fans display a TIFO during prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks during game six of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Vivint Arena. Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Did Apple 'steal' Utah Jazz 'TakeNote' hashtag?

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 10/18/22

The Utah Jazz may have encountered a unique off-the-court problem ahead of Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Denver Nuggets.

As explained by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Apple CEO Tim Cook used the "TakeNote" hashtag commonly linked with the Jazz for a promotional tweet on Tuesday. That Twitter hashtag is now immediately followed by an Apple logo emoji, which indicates the social-media website associates the phrase with the tech giant rather than the NBA franchise:

The possibilities are endless. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/msmJg865tr
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 18, 2022

New Apple #TakeNote hashflag pic.twitter.com/PjcxyB55dF
— Hashflags (@hashflagsio) October 18, 2022

#TakeNote icon is live until Oct 21 pic.twitter.com/IGPeZok7cp
— Hashflags (@hashflagsio) October 18, 2022

The KSL Sports website either seriously or jokingly suggested Apple stole the hashtag from the Jazz and did so without the team's knowledge.

"That was weird. I saw that when you all did," Jazz owner Ryan Smith said about the situation during a Tuesday news conference. "Got to look into it."

According to the AP, the Jazz began using #TakeNote as far back as 2016 and have the phrase on official merchandise and on displays at Vivint Arena, their playing home. Meanwhile, the KSL Sports piece seems to show a now-deleted tweet from the Jazz shared earlier on Tuesday that was captioned: "well, this is awkward."

The team has since addressed the matter via a different tweet:

Happy to have everyone taking note ☺️#TakeNote https://t.co/Kc9qYT1fCx
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 18, 2022

For what it's worth, the Jazz still had #TakeNote in their Twitter bio as of Tuesday evening. However, KSL's Ben Anderson wrote the club has a "yet-to-be-announced hashtag" planned for some point presumably in the near future.

The AP mentioned that Cook has been spotted sitting courtside with Smith for at least one Jazz game. Anderson added the two have previously worked together to raise funds for Encircle, a local non-profit organization.

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