Fox Sports Responds To Original USFL Owners’ Attempt To Block Relaunch Of League – Update

deadline.com:

UPDATED: A lawyer representing Fox Sports and the new United States Football League has responded to a lawsuit filed yesterday by an organization of owners and executives from the original, 1980s-era USFL.David Bernstein of Debevoise & Plimpton, counsel to Fox Sports and USFL Enterprises, said in a statement:The lawsuit filed yesterday by an entity formed just a week ago is completely without merit.

The new USFL registered its intellectual property rights in 2011 and is excited to launch games on schedule on April 16. The eleventh-hour attempt to extract value from the exciting new USFL is utterly frivolous, and we are exploring all options for redress.Nicholas Matich, an attorney representing the organization of former USFL owners and executives mainatined yesterday that “Fox is trying to reap where it did not sow and profit from confusion among fans of the real USFL, by claiming the legacy of something it didn’t build.”PREVIOUSLY on Monday: An organization of owners and executives from the original United States Football League filed suit today in Los Angeles to block Fox Sports’ planned launch of a new version of the legacy league.Fox Sports’ USFL is scheduled to begin play April 16, with all eight teams using the same franchise names, logos and other materials associated with the original USFL, according to the lawsuit.The USFL operated from 1983 to 1985 and included such players as future Pro Football Hall of Fame members Steve Young and Jim Kelly.

The USFL kicked off in 1983 as a spring league then tried to make the jump to fall in 1986 to compete with the NFL. Among its team owners was New Jersey Generals’ Donald Trump, who hoped to force a merger with the NFL but ended up helping to kill the new league.