New York
MLBPA, FanDuel settle lawsuit over alleged improper use of name, image and likeness
NEW YORK (AP) — A commercial affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association settled a lawsuit with FanDuel on Friday over the alleged unauthorized use of the names and images of MLB players on its sports betting platform.
The settlement obtained by The Associated Press said MLB Players Inc. and FanDuel agreed to a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the suit can’t be filed again.
The association and sportsbook “shall each bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in connection with this matter,” according to court documents.
The MLBPA acknowledged the settlement on Friday but said it would have no further comment.
FanDuel was removed from the New York lawsuit that also included Underdog Sports. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Underdog Sports had also settled. A separate suit filed Sept. 16 against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. is pending in federal court in Philadelphia.
MLB Players Inc. also sued the Pittsburgh Pirates’ parent company and the convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. in August alleging unlicensed use of players’ names and images on social media. The Pirates said the following day that a verbal agreement had been reached to settle the suit, but no public documents have been filed reflecting a settlement.
New York
Daughters of Malcolm X sue the CIA, FBI and NYPD over civil rights leader’s assassination
NEW YORK (AP) — Three daughters of Malcolm X have accused the CIA, FBI, the New York Police Department and others in a $100 million lawsuit Friday of playing roles in the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader.
In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the daughters — along with the Malcolm X estate — claimed that the agencies were aware of and were involved in the assassination plot and failed to stop the killing.
At a morning news conference, attorney Ben Crump stood with family members as he described the lawsuit, saying he hoped federal and city officials would read it “and learn all the dastardly deeds that were done by their predecessors and try to right these historic wrongs.”
The NYPD and CIA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, which was also sued, declined comment. The FBI said in an email that it was its “standard practice” not to comment on litigation.
For decades, more questions than answers have arisen over who was to blame for the death of Malcolm X, who was 39 years old when he was slain on Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom on West 165th Street in Manhattan as he spoke to several hundred people. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X later changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
Three men were convicted of crimes in the death but two of them were exonerated in 2021 after investigators took a fresh look at the case and concluded some evidence was shaky and authorities had held back some information.
In the lawsuit, the family said the prosecution team suppressed the government’s role in the assassination.
The lawsuit alleges that there was a “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” relationship between law enforcement and “ruthless killers that went unchecked for many years and was actively concealed, condoned, protected, and facilitated by government agents,” leading up to the murder of Malcolm X.
According to the lawsuit, the NYPD, coordinating with federal law enforcement agencies, arrested the activist’s security detail days before the assassination and intentionally removed their officers from inside the ballroom where Malcolm X was killed. Meanwhile, it adds, federal agencies had personnel, including undercover agents, in the ballroom but failed to protect him.
The lawsuit was not brought sooner because the defendants withheld information from the family, including the identities of undercover “informants, agents and provocateurs” and what they knew about the planning that preceded the attack.
Malcolm X’s wife, Betty Shabazz, the plaintiffs, “and their entire family have suffered the pain of the unknown” for decades, the lawsuit states.
“They did not know who murdered Malcolm X, why he was murdered, the level of NYPD, FBI and CIA orchestration, the identity of the governmental agents who conspired to ensure his demise, or who fraudulently covered-up their role,” it states. “The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable.”
The family announced its intention to sue the law enforcement agencies early last year.
Pennsylvania
Officer wounded when man tried to grab officer’s gun from holster and it went off, prosecutors say
POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities allege he tried to grab a suburban Philadelphia police officer’s gun from its holster and the weapon went off, wounding the officer, prosecutors said.
Montgomery County prosecutors said officers in Pottstown were dispatched to a domestic dispute at a nearby apartment Friday afternoon but left after the couple promised to stay away from each other. They were called back to the home shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday and the woman alleged that the man had grabbed her by the neck.
Prosecutors said one officer was trying to arrest William Ciccoli Jr., 42, on a domestic assault count when Ciccoli charged the other officer, a police corporal, and struggled with him. Prosecutors said the corporal can be heard on body-camera video saying, “He’s trying to get my gun.”
Prosecutors said the other officer deployed a stun weapon, and at the same time, a gunshot was heard. They said the body-camera video “shows Ciccoli with both hands on” the corporal’s firearm before the gunshot.
Prosecutors said the corporal was struck in the right hip and taken to Reading Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition after surgery.
Ciccoli was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault, disarming an officer, strangulation, simple assault and reckless endangering, according to court documents. Court documents don’t list an attorney representing him and a message couldn’t be left at a number listed in his name.
MLBPA, FanDuel settle lawsuit over alleged improper use of name, image and likeness
NEW YORK (AP) — A commercial affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association settled a lawsuit with FanDuel on Friday over the alleged unauthorized use of the names and images of MLB players on its sports betting platform.
The settlement obtained by The Associated Press said MLB Players Inc. and FanDuel agreed to a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the suit can’t be filed again.
The association and sportsbook “shall each bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in connection with this matter,” according to court documents.
The MLBPA acknowledged the settlement on Friday but said it would have no further comment.
FanDuel was removed from the New York lawsuit that also included Underdog Sports. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Underdog Sports had also settled. A separate suit filed Sept. 16 against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. is pending in federal court in Philadelphia.
MLB Players Inc. also sued the Pittsburgh Pirates’ parent company and the convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. in August alleging unlicensed use of players’ names and images on social media. The Pirates said the following day that a verbal agreement had been reached to settle the suit, but no public documents have been filed reflecting a settlement.
New York
Daughters of Malcolm X sue the CIA, FBI and NYPD over civil rights leader’s assassination
NEW YORK (AP) — Three daughters of Malcolm X have accused the CIA, FBI, the New York Police Department and others in a $100 million lawsuit Friday of playing roles in the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader.
In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, the daughters — along with the Malcolm X estate — claimed that the agencies were aware of and were involved in the assassination plot and failed to stop the killing.
At a morning news conference, attorney Ben Crump stood with family members as he described the lawsuit, saying he hoped federal and city officials would read it “and learn all the dastardly deeds that were done by their predecessors and try to right these historic wrongs.”
The NYPD and CIA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, which was also sued, declined comment. The FBI said in an email that it was its “standard practice” not to comment on litigation.
For decades, more questions than answers have arisen over who was to blame for the death of Malcolm X, who was 39 years old when he was slain on Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom on West 165th Street in Manhattan as he spoke to several hundred people. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X later changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
Three men were convicted of crimes in the death but two of them were exonerated in 2021 after investigators took a fresh look at the case and concluded some evidence was shaky and authorities had held back some information.
In the lawsuit, the family said the prosecution team suppressed the government’s role in the assassination.
The lawsuit alleges that there was a “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” relationship between law enforcement and “ruthless killers that went unchecked for many years and was actively concealed, condoned, protected, and facilitated by government agents,” leading up to the murder of Malcolm X.
According to the lawsuit, the NYPD, coordinating with federal law enforcement agencies, arrested the activist’s security detail days before the assassination and intentionally removed their officers from inside the ballroom where Malcolm X was killed. Meanwhile, it adds, federal agencies had personnel, including undercover agents, in the ballroom but failed to protect him.
The lawsuit was not brought sooner because the defendants withheld information from the family, including the identities of undercover “informants, agents and provocateurs” and what they knew about the planning that preceded the attack.
Malcolm X’s wife, Betty Shabazz, the plaintiffs, “and their entire family have suffered the pain of the unknown” for decades, the lawsuit states.
“They did not know who murdered Malcolm X, why he was murdered, the level of NYPD, FBI and CIA orchestration, the identity of the governmental agents who conspired to ensure his demise, or who fraudulently covered-up their role,” it states. “The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable.”
The family announced its intention to sue the law enforcement agencies early last year.
Pennsylvania
Officer wounded when man tried to grab officer’s gun from holster and it went off, prosecutors say
POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities allege he tried to grab a suburban Philadelphia police officer’s gun from its holster and the weapon went off, wounding the officer, prosecutors said.
Montgomery County prosecutors said officers in Pottstown were dispatched to a domestic dispute at a nearby apartment Friday afternoon but left after the couple promised to stay away from each other. They were called back to the home shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday and the woman alleged that the man had grabbed her by the neck.
Prosecutors said one officer was trying to arrest William Ciccoli Jr., 42, on a domestic assault count when Ciccoli charged the other officer, a police corporal, and struggled with him. Prosecutors said the corporal can be heard on body-camera video saying, “He’s trying to get my gun.”
Prosecutors said the other officer deployed a stun weapon, and at the same time, a gunshot was heard. They said the body-camera video “shows Ciccoli with both hands on” the corporal’s firearm before the gunshot.
Prosecutors said the corporal was struck in the right hip and taken to Reading Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition after surgery.
Ciccoli was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault, disarming an officer, strangulation, simple assault and reckless endangering, according to court documents. Court documents don’t list an attorney representing him and a message couldn’t be left at a number listed in his name.
