File photo of former professional US basketball player Michael Jordan. © AFP
NBA legend Michael Jordan was awarded USD 8.9 million by a Chicago jury on Friday in a case against a supermarket chain which included his name in a promotion without his permission.
“I’m pleased with today’s verdict,” Jordan said in a statement. “No one – whether or not they’re a public figure – should have to worry about their identity being used without their permission.”
Dominick’s in 2009 used Jordan’s name in a commemorative ad in Sports Illustrated when the former Chicago Bulls superstar was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Lawyers for the now-closed grocery store chain – which was taken over by Safeway – had said Jordan should receive USD 126,900 for the unauthorised use of his name.
Jordan argued that he wouldn’t have accepted such a deal based on his endorsement history and his legal team determined with the help of a sports economist that using his name in the ad was worth USD 10 million.
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