LeBron James sends cease and desist to AI Betting App using his likeness, source confirms
A spokesperson for James called the gambling platform a sign of the ‘decline and lack of originality in sports marketing.’
CLEVELAND — LeBron James and his attorneys have filed a cease and desist letter to prevent an AI-powered sports betting company from using James’ name, image and likeness, a spokesperson for James confirmed to the Inquirer.
The company, which calls itself Bron, is not affiliated with James, but still used his image in an online advertisement geared toward getting people to subscribe and place bets on its platform for a yearly or monthly fee. Anish Gupta, the co-founder and CEO of Bron, posted the ad to his page on X, with the description, “Meet Bron: The TikTok for Sports Betting.”
The ad features a figure wearing a No. 23 jersey with “Bron” on the back scrolling through a phone in search of player prop bets involving other prominent professional athletes before one of his games.
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The letter was first reported by Front Office Sports, which also reported James’ camp is upset at the implication the ad makes that James himself is involved in placing bets. That would be against NBA rules.
Adam Mendelsohn, a public relations advisor to James, slammed the company as an example of “the decline and lack of originality in sports marketing,” in a statement to the Inquirer.
“People are all playing for the cheapest way to get clicks and aggregation. A lot of pundits do it too,” Mendelsohn said. “I’m sure the intent here was for us to send a cease and desist in order to make it a story. You would prefer not to respond but you don’t have a choice in a situation like this. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. For what it’s worth, these gimmicks never work because people see through it.”
James recently signed an exclusive deal with the prediction market Polymarket worth around $15 million, Front Office Sports reported, while the Sixers recently announced a team partnership with another prediction market, Kalshi.
Inquirer beat reporters Gina Mizell and Chris Hine go behind the scenes of covering LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the Sixers’ star-studded roster, and debate what’s real and not real about the team’s hot start. Watch here.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Sixers Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
