LeBron James, Drake Get Slapped With $10 Million Lawsuit | Here’s What Happened

Basketball star LeBron James may be facing some legal trouble alongside rappers Drake and Future. They are being sued for $10 million for reportedly stealing the "intellectual property rights" to the film "Black Ice" by former National Basketball Players Association executive director Billy Hunter.

"Black Ice" is a documentary about the old segregated Canadian hockey league for Black players. However, Hunter is seeking a share of profits from the film as he claims to have "exclusive legal rights to produce any film about the Colored Hockey League," according to the New York Post.

Billy Hunter Bought Rights to Black Ice for $265,000M, but LeBron James and Drake Cut a Deal Behind His Back

The lawsuit named LeBron James, Drake, and their respective entertainment companies, James's The Springhill Company and Uninterrupted Canada and Drake's and Future's Dreamcrew Entertainment, as co-defendants. It accuses them of cutting a deal behind the back of Hunter, who supposedly owns any film rights to any film that will be based on the Colored Hockey League, which ran from 1895 to the 1930s, according to the Bleacher Report.

James and Drake's production companies reportedly cut a deal with the authors of the critically acclaimed book that the movie is based on, "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 to 1925." It also lists authors George and Darril Fosty as co-defendants.

According to Sports Illustrated, Hunter had a deal with George and Darril Fosty in March 2019, where he bought the rights to any film based on the Colored Hockey League. This included a $10,000 down payment and an "option agreement" for a movie adaptation. The lawsuit claimed that the authors breached their contract by doing a side deal with LeBron James and Drake's media companies. The Stryker Indigo publishing firm was also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Hunter paid the authors a total of $265,000 for the movie rights.

Authors Called Hunter About LeBron James and Drake's Interest in Making a Movie About the League

The lawsuit also stated that co-author George Fosty called Hunter in October 2020 to inform him that there was outside interest in the movie rights for Black Ice. These included First Take representatives and Uninterrupted Canada leads Vinay Virmani and Scott Moore. However, Hunter stated he had no interest in selling his exclusive option or any portion of his rights as this was a "passion project" and was planning to do a separate documentary.

He and his lawyer then submitted a breach of contract to the authors on November 2021 after learning of the movie and Drake's involvement. The Fostys then reportedly told Hunter that this was not a "competing venture" and did not violate his "exclusive worldwide license" because this was a documentary. However, Hunter's lawyer argued that a documentary is still a motion picture and any claim that the upcoming Black Ice film does not breach any contract is "absurd."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: LeBron James, Drake sued for $10M over rights to 'Black Ice' hockey film - Event News