U.S. Sports Star Confirms She Is Suing Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Sue Bird has confirmed she is suing the XFL and its owner Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
Back in April, the basketball star claimed Johnson and the American football league had copied her brand’s logo during their re-launch.
It's understood Bird founded her media company “TOGETHXR” alongside American footballer Alex Morgan and Olympic gold medallists Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim.
But after reviewing her brand's logo alongside the XFL's new one, she threatened to take legal action because of the similarities, in particular the "X" part.
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Now, a few months on, and the WNBA legend has followed through on her word.
According to TMZ, Bird filed a suit on Thursday, claiming the XFL’s logo is “confusingly similar to TOGETHXR’s brand and logo”.
Newly-presented court documents say Bird and her legal team made "repeated attempts" to contact the XFL over the issue, but the sports organisation "failed to acknowledge that it has tread on TOGETHXR's rights".
When the similarities in the logos first came to light, Bird's fiancee and US football star Megan Rapinoe went swinging in.
“Welp. This is awkward,” Rapinoe tweeted along with a screenshot of the XFL’s announcement via LinkedIn.
“Only thing @TheRock and @XFL2023 are gonna be cookin up is a response to the Cease and Desist and an ENTIRE new brand ID. @togethxr got this on lock boys.”
Co-founder Alex Morgan also waded in.
She tweeted: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess? Shout out to my team at @togethxr for creating a bad ass brand name, logo, and background story that resonates for so many."
According to reports, Hollywood and WWE legend The Rock is not being sued individually, but as past-owner of the XFL, he'll undoubtedly be involved in the legal proceedings if it goes to court.
At the time of his company's logo announcement, he said: ""X represents the INTERSECTION OF DREAMS & OPPORTUNITY. To all our XFL players, coaches, fans; You bring the dreams - we'll bring the opportunity. Now LFG!"
Topics: Australia, Megan Rapinoe, Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, American Football, Football, Basketball
Max Sherry