'Tiger King' Joe Exotic calls for lawyers to help sue FSU's Jordan Travis after Clemson, LSU wins

Reality TV star and convicted felon Joe Exotic, born Joseph Maldonado, is calling for legal action against Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis after he led the Seminoles to wins over Louisiana State and Clemson.

Maldonado, 60, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday afternoon with a message for the 23-year-old Heisman Trophy candidate from Palm Beach Gardens.

"Jordan Travis was 6 years old when I became The Tiger King, it is my trademark, my intellectual property and I'm sick of others cashing in on my Trademark just because President Biden cares nothing about me being wrongfully in prison in America," Maldonado wrote.

"I will give ANY ATTORNEY 80% of a settlement to sue Jordan Travis and ALL companies selling stuff using Tiger King."

Travis commemorated FSU's thrilling 31-24 overtime win over Clemson with a new shirt. The shirt, with the descriptor "Jordan Travis College King 2.0 WHT" displays Travis wearing a crown and sitting on a throne with a pair of tigers before him. And the price of the shirt, which can be found on Travis' website, reflects the game's final score, $31.24.

It's not the first time the quarterback has released merchandise after toppling Tiger mascots.

After FSU's 24-23 victory in New Orleans last September, Travis dropped a shirt featuring an illustration of himself donning a crown on a throne in front of a single Bengal tiger. The shirt, which was priced at $24.23, is no longer listed on Travis' site.

Maldonado's gripe comes days after the self-proclaimed "Tiger King," propelled to fame by the 2020 Netflix docuseries of the same name, denounced Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on social media.

Continuing his Sunday rant, Maldonado stated it's time that "quarterbacks and anyone else in this country stops stealing from others," asking "which attorney" would like to take the "multimillion dollar case" and for interested takers to send him a "DM," or direct message.

Maldonado proceeded to call out former president Donald Trump, who is currently under federal indictment, "you see the shit your swamp did to my life with the corrupt DOJ you ran? The evidence is there they all admit to perjury and a plot to kill me and they all walk free."

More: FSU football quarterback Jordan Travis felt 'disrespected all game' in overtime win over Clemson

Joe Biden was the next name to enter the conversation as Maldonado said the President "should make this right and gain support and FREE JOE EXOTIC."

"Until Jordan Travis walks in a cage with 20 full grown tigers and kisses them on the head, leave the Tiger King business to me," Maldonado said.

By the looks of it, Travis has yet to respond to Maldonado, who has been in prison since 2019.

The defamed zookeeper was sentenced to 22 years on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder-for-hire, in addition to wildlife violations surrounding the execution of five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying records. In January 2022, Maldonado's sentence was shortened by a year after requesting leniency as he anticipated starting treatment for early-stage cancer.

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FSU quarterback Jordan Travis angers 'Tiger King' with Clemson, LSU wins