Basketball legend George “Iceman” Gervin has settled his lawsuit against Ralph Lauren for trademark infringement, false endorsement and violating his civil rights under New York law.
The case was filed in the Southern District of New York court in February and closed on June 6 with Judge Gregory Woods allowing 30 days for the parties to come to terms on the details. Gervin asked for $2 million in damages in the original filing.
Gervin, whose 26.1 points per game scoring average in 13 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls is the ninth best in NBA history, brought the lawsuit upon it coming to his attention that Ralph Lauren was selling the Gervin Mid, which bears a striking similarity to the Nike Blazer Mid ’77 Vintage shoe. Decades earlier, Gervin wore that style on the court and in TV commercials for the Just Do It brand. The Blazer bearing “Iceman” in place of the Nike logo on the rear is considered to be the first player-exclusive model shoe.
Ralph Lauren ceased making the Gervin Mid last year, though as of the date of the court filing was making a baby shoe that continues to be marketed online. Rob Garson, an attorney for Gervin, told Sourcing Journal at the time that the brazenness of the Polo brand’s infringement led him to assume that the brand “probably thought he was dead,” and that no company would treat a retired White player, such as Tom Brady with such disregard.
The first claim for relief in the 18-page filing included a charge of violating Gervin’s civil rights under New York state law.
On May 15, attorneys for Ralph Lauren filed a motion to dismiss the civil rights charge and a claim for common law trademark infringement, that if granted, would have left only the charge of false endorsement in play.
Within three weeks the parties agreed to settle, with further details yet to come.