BOWIE, Md. — A Maryland nonprofit group is battling NBA superstar LeBron James on a different type of court.
Game Plan Inc., a nonprofit based in Bowie, Md. filed a lawsuit against James' UNINTERRUPTED media company on Tuesday-- as well as Nike, Disney and Two-Take Interactive Software Inc-- for the alleged infringement of the slogan "more than just an athlete."
The lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday said Game Plan used the slogan before LeBron's company, receiving a trademark for it in 2018 and using it since 2016. Court documents show the group is seeking around $33 million in profits made from the use of other companies like UNINTERRUPTED, Nike and Disney.
In the lawsuit, Game Plan alleges that James saw the phrase from staffers with the group back at a 2017 NBA game when they snapped a photo with Wizards' John Wall.
READ: The full lawsuit of Game Plan Inc vs. UNINTERRUPTED LLC and co.
It was after that October game against the Cavaliers in February that James' posted an Instagram photo for the UNINTERRUPTED brand, showing a neon-lit sign "More than an athlete" sign in the office. That prompted to clothing deals and merchandise from Nike with the slogan on it, creating more exposure for Lebron's brand -- not Game Plan Inc.
"The attendance at the game gave Game Plan tremendous exposure, as it was able to gain attention from John Wall in front of his peers including the (arguably) most famous athlete in the world, as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, at the time, LeBron James," the lawsuit read.
Here is the photo that Game Plan Inc. says started it all, with staffers posing with Wizards player John Wall:
The group said LeBron's influence and celebrity status also propelled the slogan to be found in distributed media content from ESPN and was found in NBA 2K video games.
The Maryland based youth development program was founded by Sam Sesay to help give local kids assistance for both athletics and academics.
The group -- which is listed as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization -- "is dedicated to enhancing, informing, and educating the youth to ascend through the ranks of high school and college athletics and academics in order to attain professional-level success whether in sports or otherwise."