Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago White Sox, Nike, Fanatics, and Fanatics Apparel for using his name without permission. The lawsuit was filed on March 19 in the Cook County Circuit Court, alleging violations of the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.
Frank Thomas is seeking at least $50,000, plus attorneys’ fees and punitive damages, according to the complaint. He claims the White Sox, Nike, Fanatics, and Fanatics Apparel were “unjustly enriched” through the sale of City Connect 2.0 jerseys bearing his name and number.
“Without his agreement or consent, Nike, Fanatics, Fanatics Apparel, and the White Sox profited by selling items using Frank Thomas’s identity for their own commercial purposes,” the lawsuit reads.
There has been much animosity between Frank Thomas and the Chicago White Sox since he left the team
Thomas played for the White Sox from 1990 to 2005 and signed a one-day contract with the team on Feb. 12, 2010, to formally announce his retirement. However, when Thomas left the team to join the Oakland A’s in 2007, the them GM of the Sox, Kenny Williams, did not have much nice to say about the slugger.
Frank Thomas also recently took issue with the Chicago White Sox omitting him from a Black History Month graphic the team posted on X in February.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants created, produced, advertised, and sold the goods via digital, online, and other commercial channels. It also claims the companies made significant profits from jersey sales, including increased commercial goodwill, royalties, revenues, and profits.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Lids Sports Group, Mitchell & Ness, Academy Sports + Outdoors, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also among the retailers and organizations listed in the complaint as possessing pertinent information.
Thomas asserts that the White Sox, Nike, Fanatics, and Fanatics Apparel did not pay him for the use of his name and likeness.
“The complaint we filed alleges violations of the Illinois Right to Publicity Act. Companies may not profit from anyone’s identity without their permission. We believe our filing speaks for itself,” William T. Gibbs, partner at Corboy & Demetrio, said in a statement.
So far, none of the defendants has publicly responded to the lawsuit. BroBible will update this story if and when they do.