A Northern California high school football team was forced to remove its viral media day photo shoot from the internet after a legal threat from In-N-Out, according to emails shared with SFGATE.
Up in Lincoln, a Placer County city located in the northeast corner of the Sacramento metro area, the Lincoln High School’s Fighting Zebras went to their local In-N-Out for a photo shoot. The football team posted both a photo gallery and a reel of behind-the-scenes footage to Instagram. The kids posed as if they were handing out orders at the drive-thru window or taking someone’s order at the register inside, and they also posed in front of the drive-thru menu.
It was supposed to be a representation of what that particular In-N-Out meant to the football team: a staple hangout spot and an important part of the program’s culture off the field. The location even opened up early, thanks to the local manager, to accommodate this shoot request, according to the caption of one of the posts.
“The history of Fighting Zebras and In n Out runs deep,” another post’s caption read. “... BIG thank you to Andrew from In n Out for allowing some animal style players to bring the herd to our favorite stomping grounds,” followed by #zebrastrong, #onceazebraalwaysazebra and #innout.
SFGATE initially reached out to the photographer behind these photos, Glenn Silva, in the hopes of writing a story about how this shoot came to be, contextualizing it in the national trend of high school teams doing media day-style shoots at their local postgame, or after-school, haunts. In-N-Out is also known for being stingy with promotion and media access, making this photo shoot a big get for the Fighting Zebras. While Silva had plenty of experience shooting high school athletes, it was the first time that Silva had done a shoot like this, and the algorithm had rewarded his efforts greatly. One video of his shoot reached over 600,000 views and garnered approximately 26,100 likes.
“It showcases a little bit more than just football,” Silva said last week about the shoot. “It showcases where they hang out because those are memories. When they get older, those kids will remember the football, and they’ll remember hanging out at In-N-Out. Who doesn’t like In-N-Out?”
However, a little less than 30 minutes after Silva’s interview with SFGATE, both he and the Fighting Zebras received an email from an unnamed member of In-N-Out’s trademark team with a subject line that read, “Unauthorized Filming and Photography at In-N-Out Burger — Immediate Removal Request.”
Because the fast food chain requires approval from the corporate level, the company argued that the team did not actually have permission to stage the shoot at that location, let alone post the results of the shoot on social media. In-N-Out “respectfully but firmly” gave Silva and the team three business days to remove any posts that showcase the shoot from any online platform.
“In-N-Out Burger takes the protection of its brand, trademarks, and trade dress very seriously,” the email reviewed by SFGATE read. “The unauthorized use of our restaurant premises, signage, logos, or any other proprietary elements in your content may constitute a violation of our intellectual property rights.”
In-N-Out’s defense of its trademark is nothing new, but it’s more often deployed against other establishments that allegedly copy its menu items, either in name or in style. One reason why the company launches international pop-ups is to maintain its copyright in other countries and hold the legal high ground around the world.
Silva tried to plead his case with the nameless trademark rep. He mentioned that they had gotten in-person permission from the manager, that the shoot happened before hours and that this was done in good faith with no intention of implying In-N-Out endorsed the shoot. Silva even asked for a retroactive approval of the shoot because of what the restaurant meant to the team.
“What began as a fun photo session for a small-town high school football team unexpectedly became something that thousands of people connected with,” Silva wrote in response. “For the players and their families, however, it is still fundamentally what it was intended to be — a record of the kids, their teammates and a tradition that is part of their high school years. We would be very grateful if there were a way to preserve that for them while also respecting In-N-Out’s concerns.”
But the replies were to no avail. A response from an intellectual property lawyer said that they gave the request “careful consideration” but that they ultimately could not approve it retroactively, maintaining the request that the content come down.
“And that wasn’t enough for them, man,” Silva told SFGATE in a Monday interview, recounting his email. “That was crazy to me. I was like, ‘Wow! After me telling you that, you don’t care.’”
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, the posts came down. Silva takes solace in the fact that the players who participated in the shoot enjoyed the experience, as well as the photos themselves. But that can only do so much, since he’s not allowed to post any of the 30 photos he composed and edited for this job in any capacity. As far as the digital world is concerned, it might as well have never happened.
For a photographer with a decade of professional experience, he said his Instagram account is “not a huge ... presence.”
“I didn’t grow up with social media,” Silva said. “I’m trying to get better at it, but it kind of hurt — it just sucks because that could have been the start of something. Not to say that I still don’t have a chance, I just gotta get better at doing these types of shoots.”
Representatives of Lincoln’s football team did not respond to a request for comment after the photos were taken off the social media platform. Once the photos and videos came down, a member of the Fighting Zebras’ booster club apologized for the incident over email, with Silva still cc’d in the chain. The unnamed trademark person replied with a bit more of a jovial tone.
“Thank you for your prompt response and for confirming that the content has been removed from your social media platforms — we are happy to consider this matter resolved,” the email read. “We appreciate the positive relationship your organization has with INO, and we hope the Fighting Zebras continue to enjoy many more post-game visits. Thank you again, and best of luck with the rest of the season!”
In-N-Out did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment.
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Sep 29, 2026|Updated Sep 29, 2026 12:19 p.m.
Gabe Fernandez is an award-winning sports reporter at SFGATE and has been yelling about sports online since he first had an internet connection. A Maryland native, Gabe graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He’s covered sports — focusing on football, basketball and sports history — for Sporting News, Deadspin and CBS Sports. You can reach him at [email protected].