Tag: daily fantasy sports

Pierre Garcon Files Class Action Against FanDuel

Chris Racic

Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon has filed suit against FanDuel for unauthorized use of his name and likeness, and has invited other NFL players to join.

“This case is about FanDuel trying to profit on plaintiff Garcon’s success, and that of other NFL athletes, without compensating them.”

I can personally attest that there has been nothing profitable about Garcon on FanDuel in years, so that should be enough to throw the case out right there.

The amount in damages Garcon’s suit is seeking was not disclosed.

Here’s Where It Gets Funny

In a throwback to the lady that sued McDonald’s for her coffee being hot, Garcon is suing the company that paid him as a celebrity endorser just last year.  His Twitter account was filled with invitations to join his fantasy football contests:

FanDuel Rival Left Out of Lawsuit

Primary rival, DraftKings, holds a licensing agreement with the NFL Players Association, which is most likely the reason only FanDuel is being sued.

FanDuel released a statement:

“There is established law that fantasy operators may use player names and statistics for fantasy contests.  FanDuel looks forward to continuing to operate our contests which sports fans everywhere have come to love.”

The List of Legal Troubles Mounts for Daily Fantasy Sports.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks in the DFS world.  The floodgates opened when inside information was leaked early at DraftKings.  The employee that leaked the information went on to place 2nd in FanDuel’s million dollar tournament, earning himself $350,000.

A DraftKings investigation found the employee did nothing wrong as neither major fantasy site had any restrictions on employees playing in competitors’ tournament.  Both companies prohibited employees from playing tournaments shortly after the incident.

The FBI has opened an inquiry into the companies, as has the New York Attorney General, Nevada officially classified DFS as gambling requiring a license, Illinois and New Jersey have similiar legislation pending, Florida has a criminal grand jury proceeding, and three other proposed class action lawsuits have been filed.