USFL Original Owners Sue Fox Sports To Block Relaunch Of League

deadline.com:

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.

No word on whether Trump is involved in the new suit.Since that time, the league’s owners and executives have tried to preserve its legacy through displays at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, licensing agreements for fan apparel and an authorized documentary and book about the league, the suit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, says.“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,” said Nicholas Matich, an attorney representing the Real USFL LLC, the organization of former USFL owners and executives.“The Real USFL is acting to protect the legacy of the players, owners, coaches, and staff of the historic league.

Quite simply Fox is claiming to be something that it’s not — the heir of the 1980s league that launched numerous hall-of-fame careers and changed the game of football.”A message seeking comment from a Fox Sports representative was not