If this sounds like a Seinfeld episode, that’s because it was.
A Canadian license plate review committee has rejected a man’s request to personalize his license plate with his real name: “Assman,” because it could be misread and cause offense, according to a report.
Dave Assman, who lives in the Canadian province Saskatchewan, said he’s had his request denied before and doubts whether it’ll ever be granted.
Tyler McMurchy, a spokesman for the SGI, which reviews personalized license plate requests, said the committee must abide by a set of guidelines regardless if a word “is someone’s name and pronounced differently than the offensive version.”
“[T]hat’s not something that would be apparent to other motorists who will see the plate,” McMurchy said.
But the rejection hasn’t deterred Assman from changing his name, which he said is derived from German and pronounced “Oss-men,” CBC reported.
“It’s my last name, I’ve always had it,” he said. “I’m not ashamed of it. There’s nothing bad about it.”