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LeBron James is being accused of stealing the slogan ‘I Am More Than An Athlete’ by a Maryland based nonprofit.
James coined the phrase following the Laura Ingraham segment on Fox News back in 2018 when she told him to ‘shut up and dribble’ after James criticized Donald Trump. He even posted a photo of the phrase with the hashtag #WeWillNotShutUpAndDribble.
The nonprofit, named Game Plan, claims that they have been using the slogan since 2016 and obtained the trademark in 2018 prior to James using the slogan. Game Plan is claiming that James essentially stole the slogan after seeing staffers wearing ‘More Than An Athlete’ shirts during a Cavaliers-Wizards game back in 2017 and have decided to sue him, per TMZ.
Game Plan — a Maryland based nonprofit, which guides young athletes to achieve professional success in an out of sports — claims they’ve been using the slogan “I Am More Than an Athlete” since 2016 and they obtained the trademark in 2018.
The problem … Game Plan is convinced LeBron James saw Game Plan staffers wearing “More Than An Athlete” shirts at a Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards game in 2017 and stole it for his Uninterrupted brand.
They’re suing Uninterrupted, Nike, Disney and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
LeBron’s Uninterrupted responded to the lawsuit, telling TMZ Sports “the complaint filed by Game Plan today is meritless and contains numerous factual inaccuracies. Uninterrupted owns prior rights in and to the ‘More Than An Athlete’ trademark.”
According to the report, the nonprofit is seeking no less than $33 million.