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Toronto Raptors small forward Kawhi Leonard says his federal lawsuit against Nike “happened a long time ago.”
Per the lawsuit documents, Leonard claims he designed the logo that appeared on his Nike apparel and Nike copyrighted the logo without his consent. The Raptors star says the media just found out about it and he's not worried.
Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard on his “Klaw” logo lawsuit against Nike: “It happened a long time ago. You guys are just finding out about it. It’s not a big worry of mine.”
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 4, 2019
Nike and Leonard parted ways after Kawhi turned down a four-year, $22 million extension from them. Leonard is now with New Balance and his products are doing very well.
Leonard's legal team will handle the lawsuit so Kawhi can focus on the NBA Finals. The Raptors and Golden State Warriors will play Game 3 of the series on Wednesday, June 5 at Oracle Arena.
Marc Stein of the New York Times reported last week the Los Angeles Clippers were trying to buy some of the rights on Leonard’s “Klaw” logo from Nike. The Clippers are widely expected to pursue Leonard this summer in free agency once Kawhi turns down his 2019-20 player option with the Raptors.
It's pretty crazy that one of the best basketball players in the world is filing a lawsuit against arguably the biggest shoe company in the world. However, Leonard is fully entitled to own his own logo so that no one else can claim it.
