Those skimming the sports section of their print and internet news sources have come across some shocking information: Michael Jordan has filed a lawsuit against two grocery stores due to their improper use of his image in their advertising campaigns. The stores, named Jewel and Dominick’s respectively, ran print advertisements that featured images of Jordan as he appeared in a Sports Illustrated issue. Considering this tantamount to using him as an endorsement figure without permission, Jordan has filed a $5 million lawsuit claiming damages.

At the core of the pending lawsuit is the assertion that the stores employed fraud, deceptive trade practices, and unfair competition in using the images without prior approval or agreement. While some may consider this overstated, if Jordan did not officially agree to endorsing the stores, the stores would not have proper authorization to use his image. This is true whether the stores intended to do so or not.

The action of filing a lawsuit will surely dissuade others from using Jordan’s image without permission. More than likely, this is the purpose behind the