LeBron James & Drake Hit With $10 Million Lawsuit Over Rights To ‘Black Ice’ Hockey Documentary

LeBron James, Drake

LeBron James & Drake Hit With $10 Million Lawsuit Over Rights To ‘Black Ice’ Hockey Documentary

LeBron James and Drake are accused of stealing the rights to a movie about the segregated hockey league for black players in Canada.

According to reports, NBA star LeBron James and Canadian rapper Drake are accused in a new $10 million lawsuit of stealing the “intellectual property rights” to the film “Black Ice.” Billy Hunter, former head of the NBA Players Association, is seeking a share of profits from the documentary as well as $10 million in damages.

Billy Hunter

In a complaint filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court, Billy Hunter alleges he holds the exclusive legal rights to produce any film about the Colored Hockey League that existed from 1895 to the 1930s. According to the lawsuit filed by his attorney, Larry Hutcher, it read,

“While the defendants LeBron James, Drake and Maverick Carter [LeBron’s business partner] are internationally known and renowned in their respective fields of basketball and music, it does not afford them the right to steal another’s intellectual property.” 

In the suit, Billy Hunter, 79, accuses defendants LeBron James and Drake of using their entertainment companies to cut a deal behind his back with the authors of the notable book that the documentary is based on — “Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 to 1925.”

Black Ice
Photo Credit: Uninterrupted Canada

Reportedly, authors George and Darril Fosty are also listed as defendants, citing breach of contract for allegedly violating the agreement they made with Billy and instead working out a side deal with LeBron and Drake. The suit said Hunter paid the authors a total of $265,000 to lock up the movie rights to the story and any “audiovisual” adaptation of the “Black Ice” story.

Billy Hunter

The suit also lists LeBron’s entertainment companies — The Springhill Company and Uninterrupted Canada — as defendants along with Dreamcrew Entertainment, the entertainment firm of rappers Drake and Future, and the Fostys’ publishing firm, Stryker Indigo and First Take Entertainment, a film production company.

LeBron James

The complaint alleged Hunter confronted the Fosty brothers after hearing about their deal with LeBron and Drake and said the authors claimed the documentary did not violate their agreement with Hunter because a documentary is different than a movie. The Hunter suit accuses the Fostys and their publishing firm of breach of contract and the LeBron and Drake teams of “tortious interference.”

LeBron James

The court documents said the NBA champion’s entertainment company offered the Fostys $100,000 to acquire the “already optioned” rights to produce a documentary about the “Black Ice” story and agreed to pay the authors 3% of the total movie budget. LeBron’s team then sought the backing of additional investors, specifically, Dreamcrew Entertainment, which is a co-venture between Drake and Future.

Future, Drake

Representatives for LeBron, Drake, and the Fostys and their firms have yet to comment.

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[Sources: 1, 2]