“My cousin who is a die hard Tar Heel fan is specifically waiting to use this at some point this tournament,” another added, referring to Duke’s main rival, North Carolina.

The No. 1 seeded Duke men’s team will face Arizona, the fourth seed, on Thursday night.

The women’s, a No. 2 seed, take on the Tar Heels, the No. 3 seed, on Friday.

“‘The White Lotus’ not only uses our brand without permission, but in our view uses it on imagery that is troubling, does not reflect our values or who we are, and simply goes too far,” Frank Tramble, Duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, said as part of a statement.

“Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. As imagery from the show is being shared widely across social media, we are using our brand to promote mental health awareness and remind people that help is available.”

In the show’s third season, which takes place at a luxury hotel in Thailand where the family is vacationing, Ratliff imagines contemplating suicide because he is implicated in a money-laundering scheme and is being investigated by the FBI.

“Duke appreciates artistic expression and creative storytelling, but characters prominently wearing apparel bearing Duke’s federally registered trademarks creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists,” Tramble said.

Bloomberg did not disclose if Duke had taken action against Warner Bros., which owns HBO.

Ratliff’s wife, Victoria Ratliff (played by Parker Posey), is an overly proud North Carolina alumna and their son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) is a recent Duke graduate. Their daughter (Sarah Catherine Hook) attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“The White Lotus” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.