SAN FRANCISCO—Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is embroiled not only in a difficult NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, he’s now involved in a United States federal lawsuit against sports apparel giant Nike.
Law firms in New York and California filed a suit Monday on Leonard’s behalf against Nike, saying the company “falsely” claimed it created a logo that Leonard had developed early in his career, according to a story first reported by the Portland Business Journal.
Leonard did have an endorsement deal with Nike that expired. He has since signed a lucrative deal with New Balance and the suit claims Nike filed an application for copyright registration for the logo without Leonard permission or approval.