NBA superstar LeBron James and Grammy-winning rapper Drake, along with their respective media companies, are among the defendants listed in a lawsuit alleging their involvement in the improper acquisition of “intellectual property rights” to an upcoming documentary.
According to a report from the New York Post, former NBA players union head Billy Hunter and his attorney Larry Hutcher have filed a lawsuit in New York state Supreme Court over the rights to Black Ice, a film adaptation of the book, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 to 1925.
In the suit, Hunter, the National Basketball Players Association’s executive director from 1996 to 2013, says he holds exclusive rights to any film made about the CHL due to a deal he struck with the book’s authors, George and Darril Fosty, in March 2019. The deal included a $10,000 down payment and an “option agreement” for a movie adaptation. Hunter claims the Fostys later breached their contract in order to work out a side deal with James and Drake’s team; the suit also claims Hunter paid the authors a total of $265,000 for the movie rights, per the Post.
