The Big Hurt Nukes White Sox & Nike

Letter to Philippians: Goodbye Mr. Spaulding! Hello lawsuit! Leave it to White Sox HOF slugger Frank Thomas to remind sports tycoons that a bases-loaded field of state & even federal laws require his ok & payment for use of his name or image in ads or products.

“The Big Hurt” not only has sued Nike & Fanatics for allegedly stitching his name on jerseys they’re selling without his permission, but his former team too. Say it isn’t so, Joe, after having played 16 MLB seasons for the White Sox. It’s so. As ESPN reported, “Thomas’ complaint (filed in Cook County’s courthouse in The Windy City) … stems from the team’s sale of City Connect 2.0 jerseys’ … with Thomas’ No. 35 on the front & Thomas’ name & No. 35 on the back, alongside White Sox trademarks, logos & team & Nike branding.” Thomas’ mouthpiece, er, law firm is HOF Corboy & Demetrio, which is most-known for its mega-personal injury judgments. Here, the firm has invoked the Illinois Right to Publicity Act, which, da, generally prohibits companies profiting from anyone’s “identity without their permission.” None of the defendants talked to ESPN to explain themselves, so one may wonder if Frank isn’t telling the entire story in his court complaint. The first court date isn’t until May 21.

Meanwhile, Frank still thinks the White Sox are cheap skates. In 2002, he sued the team when it invoked a “diminished skills clause” in his contract “that cut his base salary to $250K & deferred $10.125M over 10 years without interest.” Last month, Frank posted what might be seen as a warning shot after the team posted on X a timeline of “momentous firsts” for Black History Month and only mentioned his two-time MVP name: “I Guess the black player who made you rich over there & holds all your records is forgettable! Don’t worry I’m taking Receipts!” Former fellow South Sider Davd’s kindly hint to Frank & Corboy: While there’s no nationwide federal right to payment law on the books, Frank arguably can also send to the plate in a pinch-hitting role, if needed, Uncle Sam’s hard-hitting Lanham Act, which does also bar businesses from making it seem like a celeb like him endorses a given product when they don’t.

Davd Soul