NBA champions Golden State Warriors are now among the individuals and organizations involved in a recent string of class action lawsuits related to the FTX crash. Multiple reports tell us that the NBA team is now accused of misleading FTX customers about the safety and reliability of the cryptocurrency exchange.
This comes after Warriors franchise star player Stephen Curry was named alongside other personalities like Tom Brady and Larry David in a lawsuit alleging that high-profile US sports stars were involved in deceptive practices targeting investors who became victims of FTX's collapse in the United States.
Golden State's Partnership with FTX
It was December 2021 when the Golden State Warriors announced a "first-of-its-kind" partnership with FTX. As part of the collaboration, the NBA team and the now-defunct crypto platform released themed NFTs, which were made available in the FTX NFT marketplace.
Alongside the NFT drops, the partnership also involved FTX logo placement on basket pole pads and the press table for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State's G League affiliate. Furthermore, the FTX brand logo was also placed on virtual basketball courts for the Warriors Gaming Squad at NBA 2K League games.
On Nov. 15, ESPN reported that the NBA team had already paused all of its FTX-related promotional assets. This includes all arena promotions and advertisements. This is after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following plummeting crypto prices on the platform.
Class Action Lawsuit
Gizmodo tells us that the defendant in the Golden State Warriors case is Canadian and Hong Kong resident Elliot Lam, who told the press that he filed his case to also represent potentially millions of FTX investors who were misled by Golden State's association with FTX.
The lawsuit alleged that the Warriors falsely represented FTX as a safe and reliable platform. During the December partnership, FTX US President Brett Harrison said that the FTX US NFT platform could provide a leading, safe, and secure venue for the Warriors' international fan base to access exclusive collectibles from the franchise.
The aforementioned defendant also claimed that he himself was a victim of the FTX market crash and that he suffered a loss of $750,000 as a result. Lam is one of the foreign investors in FTX with yield-bearing accounts.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, and other traders lost billions of dollars in recent weeks as the company struggled to deal with an unexpected liquidity crisis.
The Golden State Warriors are not the only NBA team involved with the bankrupt FTX platform. On South Beach, Miami-Dade County, which owns the Miami Heat's home arena, signed a massive 19-year deal worth $135 million to name the Heat's home court after the crypto firm. ESPN reports that the Heat's home was known as American Airlines Arena from its opening in 1999 until last season.
