There is only one player in MLB history to have batted .300 or above with over 20 home runs, 100 runs, 100 walks, and 100 RBIs in seven consecutive seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He is a baseball legend and a Hall of Famer. With a prolific 19-year-long MLB career, baseball’s legendary first baseman has put his own former team under the fire of a lawsuit.
Nicknamed The Big Hurt, Frank Thomas has decided to sue the Chicago White Sox, Nike, the Baseball Hall of Fame, and other retailers for unauthorized use of intellectual property. According to Law.com, the complaint was filed on March 19 at the Illinois Circuit Court in Cook County. Thomas has filed the case under the counsel of Corboy & Demetrio.
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Nike, Fanatics, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Bulls, and major retailers were hit with a right-of-publicity lawsuit on March 19 in Illinois Circuit Court for Cook County over the alleged unauthorized use of Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas’s name,” read the case summary.
Thomas has alleged that the defendants were using his name and jersey number in City Connect 2.0 jerseys without permission or compensation. These jerseys have been allegedly on sale since April last year. That is a violation of the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.
Launched in 2025, the City Connect 2.0 jerseys are the second-generation collaboration between MLB and Nike. These jerseys were launched to revive the highly successful City Connect Series.
The jerseys are designed to celebrate the city pride and the cultural heritage of each team’s city. The Chicago White Sox and the NBA’s Bulls came together to create a blend between the two. Thomas’ name and jersey number were used in this series of jerseys.
This is a developing story…….
