A group of investors slammed the National Basketball Association (NBA) with a lawsuit. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit is tied to the league’s promotional arrangement with collapsed cryptocurrency trading platform Voyager Digital.
The suit alleges the NBA acted in a “grossly negligent” fashion by greenlighting a multi-year marketing deal between Voyager and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. It accuses the league of widespread embrace of crypto without regard for associated risks.
- The lawsuit comes after Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy.
- Voyager owes $4.2 billion to customers.
- Investors claim the NBA promoted Voyager’s “unregistered securities,” echoing celeb endorsement suits.
The lawsuit comes as financial regulators, investors, and fraud victims recover from the wreckage of the recent crypto crash. The fallout brought down firms like Voyager and FTX.
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NBA Went “All In” on the Risky Crypto Craze
The Voyager investors’ complaint takes specific aim at the NBA, a sports giant that has inked sponsorship and naming rights deals with numerous crypto players over the past two years.
It alleges the NBA sought to cement leadership in digital asset promotion by backing Voyager despite obvious risks. The legal filing claims the NBA formed a partnership between the firm and Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks in order to propagate Voyager’s platform to legions of basketball fans.
“The NBA’s widespread promotion of Voyager’s unregistered securities renders it liable for any and all resulting damages,” while McCarter & English “produced fraudulent legal opinions,” the lawsuit states.
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The NBA becomes just the latest giant to face the heat of crypto collapse. Celebrities like Larry David, Kim Kardashian, and Tom Brady face lawsuits for touting FTX before its implosion.
The legal actions that surface one by one clearly indicate that the ripple effect of the collapse of some of the largest crypto players still affects hundreds of customers.