Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James Sued For $150,000 For Posting Picture Of Himself Dunking On Social Media

As first reported by Sports Illustrated, copyright attorney Richard Liebowitz has filed a lawsuit against LeBron James on behalf of photographer, Steve Mitchell.

On December 13, 2019, Mitchell took a picture of LeBron dunking over Meyers Leonard, when the Lakers played the Heat in Miami.

After the game, the next day, James posted the picture on his social media accounts, but not the original. He (or his team?) used a cropped version of the photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6EGC_ogCyj/?igshid=7h2p4d2nifpd

The fact that LeBron himself is in the photo does not give him the right to publish it elsewhere. Mitchell owns his photos.

He is now seeking damages that “would reflect profits, income, receipts and other benefits derived by James and his co-defendants or, in the alternative, damages of up to $150,000 per infringement.”