$70,000,000-worth Giannis Antetokounmpo sues luxury bed company seeking refund worth $95,391: What we know so far
Since becoming a superstar in the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo has worked hard to protect his image. The two-time MVP now finds himself in the middle of a legal battle with one of his sponsors.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has filed a lawsuit against Maree, a company that sells luxury and designer beds. The Milwaukee Bucks star has two issues with the company. First, they used a photo of him without his consent for their social media to make it appear that he endorses the company. Maree made the post on their Instagram, but it has since been taken down.
The second issue Giannis Antetokounmpo has with the company is that they failed to deliver four beds to him in Greece. Giannis is seeking over $93 million in refunds, and wants paperwork stating the company cannot use his name, image and likeness.
According to the report, the NBA star only received 11 out of 43 items purchased with the beds. On top of that, what he did receive was either in poor condition or unusable all together.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has had legal battles in the past
Giannis Antetokounmpo going after Maree is not his first legal battle. The Milwaukee Bucks forward has been in multiple cases in regards to protecting his brand.
One of Giannis' first moves was trademarking the term "Greek Freak." It's been his nickname since entering the league, and he is the only one legally allowed to use the namesake. In recent years, his representation has had to file multiple cease-and-desist letters regarding the trademark.
Back in 2020, Giannis went after a company called "Fan Closet" for selling merchandise with "Greek Freak" on it. He wanted two million dollars in damages for them selling clothing with his label on it. Fan Closet ended up removing all of it from their website, and Giannis was eventually compensated for the ordeal.
In a story for the New York Post, Giannis' attorney explained why he went after Fan Closet for using the name. Along with wanting to protect the brand, they could lose the rights if they don't protect the trademark in situations like this.
"If an athlete or celebrity does not protect the rights to their name, they risk losing those rights.”
Giannis had a similar lawsuit as this one in the summer of 2019 after an artist was selling clothes with his name on it.