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Former UCF lineman Jah Reid suing alma mater over use of likeness
A former UCF football player is suing the university for using his likeness while promoting summer football camps.
Jah Reid, who played at UCF from 2006-10, filed a civil lawsuit against the UCF Athletics Association and “Rise and Conquer LLC,” a company Knights coach Scott Frost helped set up to organize football camps. In the lawsuit, Reid, currently an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, says UCF and Rise and Conquer (referred to in the lawsuit as “R&C”) used his name, accomplishments and likeness in brochures and advertisements for the camps without his permission.
The lawsuit says one camp advertisement says “come to camp and have a chance to earn an offer like Jah Reid” while showing images of Reid in both his UCF and Kansas City uniforms.
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“There was never a relationship between Mr. Reid and UCF or Rise and Conquer for endorsement agreements or the use of Mr. Reid’s image, name and/or likeness in perpetuity,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Reid was not able to accept any endorsement agreements as an amateur athlete. Mr. Reid never permitted UCF or R&C to use his image, name and likeness.
“Since at least the spring of 2016, UCF and R&C have significantly profited off the unconsented use of Mr. Reid’s name, likeness and image and have used Mr. Reid’s name, likeness and image for the purpose of advertising and other commercial purposes in violation of applicable law.”
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The lawsuit says UCF denied that the school improperly used Reid’s likeness while Rise and Conquer has not responded to the allegations. Overall, Reid is seeking “a reasonable royalty in the amount of $200,000, plus exemplary and/or punitive damages in the amount of $600,000.”
“The use of Mr. Reid’s name, image and likeness was not part of a bone fide news report, nor did it have a legitimate public interest, but rather, was part of a calculated, designed advertising and promotional campaign to use and exploit Mr. Reid’s name, image and likeness to promote the joint venture of UCF and R&C for the provision of football camps,” the lawsuit says.
Reid played in 51 games at UCF under George O’Leary and was twice a first team All-Conference USA selection. He was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens in 2011 before landing with the Chiefs in 2015. He started 10 games for Kansas City in 2015 and was a backup in 2016.
For more UCF news, visit UCFSports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
