LeBron James' UNINTERRUPTED Sued over Use of 'More Than an Athlete' Slogan

Game Plan Inc., a Maryland nonprofit organization focused on youth development, filed a lawsuit against LeBron James' UNINTERRUPTED media company, Nike, Disney and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. for use of the slogan "More Than an Athlete." 

TMZ Sports reported Thursday that Game Plan said it has used the phrase "I Am More Than An Athlete" since 2016 and received a trademark for it in 2018, and it's seeking at least $33 million in profits made from its use by other companies.

"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," UNINTERRUPTED said in a statement to TMZ.

Game Plan alleges in its lawsuit James saw the phrase on shirts worn by its staffers at a 2017 NBA game when they took a picture with Washington Wizards star John Wall, per TMZ.

"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 states.

The organization says James then took ownership of the phrase via UNINTERRUPTED and made deals with Nike, ESPN and the NBA 2K video game series without trademark permission.

Blake Brittain of Bloomberg Law reported the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

None of the other companies mentioned in the court filing have commented on the matter.