Fox knocked out in Muhammad Ali Super Bowl lawsuit
Posted On: Jul. 18, 2018 11:45 AM CST
Fox Broadcasting is perhaps bleeding on the floor — dollar amount undisclosed — after settling a $30 million lawsuit filed by Muhammad Ali Enterprises in 2017 claiming the network used the famous boxer’s likeness in a Super Bowl ad.
Fox argued the case was an attack on free speech, but at a hearing a judge saw the possibility that a three-minute video about great athletes was commercial speech, Fox News reported Tuesday.
The entity that owns rights to Mr. Ali’s likeness argued that the three-minute video before the Super Bowl in 2017 violated publicity rights and represented a false endorsement, according to the report. The ad used archival footage of the boxer and, after referring to him as “the Greatest,” showed various NFL legends as the narrator stated that “in the Super Bowl, many have marched towards this same confrontation with greatness,” Fox News reported.