LeBron James has been hit with a lawsuit by screenwriter Rob Grabow.
According to reports, the lawsuit was also filed against James’ production company, SpringHill, Netflix, and others for breach of contract and copyright infringement. It states that they used Grabrow’s idea from his script “The Gift of the Game” as the base for the movie “Rez Ball.”
Grabow’s synopsis for his scripts follows, “a Native American high schooler and his efforts to lead his basketball team to a state title.” However, Netflix’s synopsis for “Rez Ball” states, “The Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team with a rich Native American heritage, faces its greatest challenges yet.”
It continues, “After losing their star player, the rest of the team must come together more than ever to realize their dream of winning a state championship.” The film is also centered around the book “Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation” written by journalist Michael Powell.
In his lawsuit, Grabow states that he shared his idea with “people close to Netflix and James,” and feels that they “ripped off his story for their movie.” He is currently asking for undisclosed damages.
“There are numerous substantially and strikingly similar concrete and expressive elements in the two works’ plot, theme, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, characters, and sequence of events,” the lawsuit states.
Netflix, James, or Springhill have not responded to the lawsuit.