Attorneys on behalf of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to a sports prediction market for making fun of the NBA player over his frequent flopping.
“Flopping” refers to when players exaggerate illegal contact from the opposition in the hopes that referees will see it and call a foul. It’s most common in sports where participants play close but are not necessarily supposed to make contact, like in basketball, soccer, and hockey.
Underdog Sports, a fantasy sports company, created a satirical board game based on the family classic Operation to mock Gilgeous-Alexander, according to The Athletic. In the game — titled “Unethical Hoops”— players use a pair of tweezers to remove tiny basketballs from holes set into an illustration resembling Gilgeous-Alexander. If a player brushes up against the Thunder star with the tweezers, a foul buzzer will sound.
The company held a contest to give away 100 copies of the game during game 3 of the Western Conference finals, which featured the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
The game does not appear to feature the NBA player’s name, just an illustration of his likeness. Still, attorneys have sent Underdog a cease-and-desist letter demanding they stop using his name, image, and likeness in “any and all media,” The Athletic first reported.
The letter, dated May 22 from Eric Fishman of the firm ArentFox Schiff, said that applied to Underdog’s website, “(including the Unethical Hoops Website), apps, social media accounts, digital marketing and advertisements, promotional emails, push notifications, affiliate or influencer placements, and any physical goods including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website.”
Lawyers also asked that all copies of the Unethical Hoops game be destroyed.
The Independent has requested comment from Underdog.
The parody board game didn’t come out of nowhere; Gilgeous-Alexander’s tendency to hit the deck after shots has been a topic of debate in the NBA commentary space. A video posted on X with the caption “Shai flopped on every single shot attempt” that shows a montage of him falling racked up more than 17 million views.
To see if the reputation was warranted, Yahoo Sports contributor Tom Haberstroh crunched the numbers, comparing Gilgeous-Alexander’s falls in the postseason to those of his fellow players. He found the player did, in fact, fall more often than his peers.
Whether he’s flopping, is the victim of more frequent fouling, or is trying to protect his joints is up for debate.
Gilgeous-Alexander has largely shrugged off the criticism.
“It does nothing,” he said recently when asked what he thought of fans calling him a “flopper.”
“Doesn’t fuel me, doesn’t discourage me. It’s part of the game,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with it a long time. I don’t really hear it. I’m focused on what’s going on on the court.”
