LeBron James' lawyers demand Bron AI stop using his likeness

LeBron James' lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bron AI, an AI-powered sports betting app that uses his nickname, No. 23 and a lookalike in a promotional video, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia 76ers star told Front Office Sports on Thursday.

"LeBron is in no way affiliated with this unauthorized use of his likeness," the spokesperson said.

Bron AI, owned by PlayVision Inc., aggregates odds from sportsbooks and prediction markets and lets users place bets on other apps. A promotional video posted Wednesday by the company's CEO shows a character who resembles James, wears a "Bron" jersey with No. 23 and speaks in a similar voice. The clip drew more than 900,000 views in under 24 hours, FOS reported.

What the letter demands

The letter from Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks PC calls the use "especially serious and egregious" because James has an exclusive endorsement deal with Polymarket and because the ad implies he is "involved with betting on basketball, which is a very serious violation of NBA rules and regulations." It asks Bron AI to stop using James' likeness in any form, remove the ad and notify every app user in writing that James has no involvement with the company. ESPN reported the letter set a 5:30 p.m. Thursday deadline to stop using his name and likeness.

Adam Mendelsohn, James' longtime media adviser, told FOS the company may have wanted the cease-and-desist to create attention. "You would prefer not to respond but you don't have a choice in a situation like this," he said. "For what it's worth, these gimmicks never work because people see through it."

Other athletes in the ad

The same ad shows Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Christian McCaffrey, Jayden Daniels and Dillon Brooks, FOS reported. A representative for Luka Dončić told FOS the Lakers star has also sent a cease-and-desist. Bron AI and PlayVision did not respond to FOS for comment. The "pro" version of the Y Combinator-backed app costs $29.99 a month or $249.99 a year.