Heat's Bosh sues ex-girlfriend over reality show
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bosh claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court that Allison Mathis and Shed Media are trying to unjustly enrich themselves by using Bosh's name...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Miami Heat star Chris Bosh is suing the mother of his child for appearing on a reality TV show called “Basketball Wives,” which he said intrudes on his private life.
Bosh claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court that Allison Mathis and Shed Media are trying to unjustly enrich themselves by using Bosh’s name and intruding into his private affairs.
He acknowledges he and Mathis have a child together.
The suit says Mathis was hired to appear in the third season of the VH1 reality show and wants to use it to become a TV star. Bosh seeks damages and an injunction to block her and the media company from trademark infringement by using his name and disclosing private facts about his life.
“Though the reality television show is titled, ‘Basketball Wives,’ the featured women in the show are not the current wives of NBA players,” the lawsuit says. “Instead, the show follows the lives of women who are dating or who dated NBA basketball players or who were formerly married to NBA players. ”
It says the show, “provides these women with a vehicle and worldwide platform” to use the names of players without permission for commercial gain.
“Defendant Mathis is attempting to promote her own commercial brand and become a television personality and/or celebrity by exploiting her former relationship with plaintiff,” says the lawsuit.
Shed Media did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday. Bosh’s attorneys said they had not been notified who will be representing Mathis.
Bosh’s attorneys said use of Bosh’s name and “life rights” does not fall in the category of protected expression under the First Amendment.
“Defendants are not ‘expressing’ anything other than their attempt to profit from plaintiff’s fame,” the lawsuit says.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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