DraftKings, Bet365 Seek to Dismiss MLB Players Union NIL Suit

DraftKings Inc. and Bet635 Group Ltd. moved to quash a lawsuit from Major League Baseball players’ union, saying the sports-betting platforms’ use of athletes’ images and names is protected by the First Amendment and has a “newsworthy value.”

The defendants’ use of baseball players’ publicly-available images and names isn’t a violation of publicity rights because it “comfortably falls” under the “newsworthiness exceptions” carved out by state statutes and common law, which allow for the use of name, image, and likeness in a news context, DraftKings and Bet365 argued in separate motions to dismiss filed Monday in the US District Court ...