The NBA sent roughly 200 cease-and-desist letters to Atlanta-area promoters who were using the league’s trademarks without permission, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
Promoters were using the NBA’s All-Star Game logo and event name to advertise independent events happening in the city this weekend, Marc Stein from The New York Times reported.
The NBA All-Star Game will be played Sunday night in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. The event is closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The events being promoted in Atlanta come after the NBA and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms urged people not to come to the city for the All-Star weekend.
“Under normal circumstances, we would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to host the NBA All-Star game, but this is not a typical year,” Bottoms tweeted in February when the location for the game was announced. “I have shared my concerns related to public health and safety with the NBA and Atlanta Hawks. We are in agreement that this is a made-for-TV event only, and people should not travel to Atlanta to party.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also discouraged people from traveling to Atlanta for All-Star events.
“The players will be only at the hotel and the arena, and there will be no other events other than essentially a made-for-tv show coming out of the State Farm Arena,” Silver told CNN.
