简而言之 BIG3 NFT 的所有者已起诉 Ice Cube 的 3 对 3 职业篮球联盟，指控其未兑现承诺。 NFT 购买者每人支付高达 25,000 美元，预计将获得团队销售的一部分并获得其他好处。 该诉讼声称他们没有这样做，并寻求损害赔偿和赔偿，因为 BIG3 旨在通过 SPAC 交易上市。 NFT 买家希望从说唱歌手兼演员 Ice Cube 的 BIG3 联盟中获得职业 3 对 3 篮球队的部分所有权，他们已向加州高等法院对该联盟提起集体诉讼，挑战了该联盟过去在准备上市时的承诺。 该诉讼于去年 7 月提起，最初由 Front Office Sports 报道，并于周二由律师公布，指控联盟在“以不可替代代币的形式发行和销售未注册证券”的过程中进行“欺骗性、欺诈性和非法营销”。 原告律师约瑟夫·酒井(Joseph Sakai)在一份声明中表示：“从本质上讲，本案是对投资者做出的承诺，他们也是联盟最忠实的球迷。”
“我们的客户投资了大量资金，因为他们表示将获得有意义的所有权，包括球队管理决策、季票以及未来球队销售的财务参与，”酒井说。 “联盟承诺这些权利将‘永远’持续。它们只持续了三年。” 原告期望的所有权是 2022 年出售基于以太坊的 NFT 的一部分，分为两个级别：“Fire”，每件售价 25,000 美元，“Gold”，每件售价 5,000 美元。 BIG3 NFT 所有者还有望获得 VIP 门票和对团队事务投票的能力等福利。 “这是让粉丝成为主人的好方法。所以，这对我来说是理所当然的，”Ice Cube 当时告诉 Decrypt。 “我致力于改变游戏规则并改变范式。” 但 NFT 购买者声称，所有权、其利益和其他承诺尚未兑现。
诉讼称：“BIG3 没有履行对原告和其他向联盟提供大量资金的类似投资者的合同承诺，而是将这些个人从球队所有者降级为普通门票持有者。”并补充说，它最终剥夺了原告参与联盟的权利以及从出售球队中获利的权利，这是它承诺的“作为他们购买 BIG3 未注册证券的回报”。 2024 年，BIG3 将四支球队出售给外部投资者，在此过程中净赚约 4000 万美元。该诉讼称，球队销售额的一部分来自 NFT 持有者，他们是联盟最初的私人投资者之一。 诉讼中写道：“在 BIG3 宣布首次向 DCB Sports 出售球队权利的两年前，BIG3 已通过不可替代的代币向包括原告在内的数百名私人投资者出售了所有权。” 联盟的一名代表没有立即回应 Decrypt 的置评请求，但在一份声明中告诉 Front Office Sports，“尽管合同规定有通过保密仲裁解决所有此类纠纷的义务，但原告仍在提起公害诉讼。”
原告正在寻求损害赔偿、恢复原状、声明性救济和其他救济。根据原告律师的一份声明，BIG3 寻求通过个人而非集体的私人仲裁来处理此事。 上个月，刚刚开始第九个赛季的联盟宣布，它正在寻求通过与一家特殊目的收购公司 (SPAC) 的合并来上市，该公司的估值约为 2.9 亿美元。据 Front Office Sports 报道，原告律师预计将根据 SPAC 的消息对诉讼进行修改。 每日简报时事通讯 每天从当前的热门新闻报道以及原创专题、播客、视频等开始。
In brief
Owners of BIG3 NFTs have sued Ice Cube's 3-on-3 professional basketball league over allegedly unfulfilled promises.
NFT purchasers, who paid as much as $25,000 apiece, expected to earn a share of team sales and get other benefits.
The suit alleges they haven't, and seeks damages and restitution as BIG3 aims to go public via SPAC deal.
NFT buyers expecting to have some ownership stake in professional 3-on-3 basketball teams from rapper and actor Ice Cube’s BIG3 league have filed a class action lawsuit against the league in the Superior Court of California—challenging the league’s past promises as it prepares to go public.
The suit, filed last July but first reported by Front Office Sports and publicized by attorneys on Tuesday, alleges “deceptive, fraudulent, and illegal marketing” by the league as part of its “offering and sale of unregistered securities in the form of non-fungible tokens.”
“At its core, this case is about promises made to investors who are also the league’s most loyal fans," said the attorney for the plaintiffs, Joseph Sakai, in a statement.
"Our clients invested substantial sums based on representations that they would receive meaningful ownership rights, including team management decisions, season tickets, and financial participation in future team sales," Sakai said. "The league promised these rights would last ‘forever.’ They barely lasted three years."
The ownership rights the plaintiffs expected were part of perks from the 2022 sale of Ethereum-based NFTs from two tiers—”Fire” which was sold for $25,000 apiece, and “Gold,” which sold for $5,000 each. BIG3 NFT owners were also expected to receive benefits like VIP tickets and the ability to vote on team matters.
“This is a great way for the fans to be owners. And so, it's a no-brainer for me,” Ice Cube told Decrypt at the time. “I'm all about changing the game and shifting the paradigm.”
But the NFT purchasers allege that ownership, its benefits, and other promises, have not been met.
“Rather than honor its contractual promises to plaintiffs and other similarly situated investors who provided substantial capital to the league, BIG3 has relegated those individuals from team owners to common ticket holders,” the suit says, adding that it ultimately denied plaintiffs' rights to participate in the league and profits from the sale of teams, things it promised “in return for their purchase of BIG3’s unregistered securities."
BIG3 sold four teams to outside investors in 2024, netting around $40 million in the process. The suit alleges a portion of those team sales was due to NFT holders, who were some of the original private investors in the league.
“Two years before BIG3 announced its first sale of team rights to DCB Sports, BIG3 had sold ownership rights to hundreds of private investors, including plaintiffs, via non-fungible tokens,” the suit reads.
A representative for the league did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment, but told Front Office Sports in a statement that “the plaintiffs are filing a public nuisance suit despite contractual obligations to resolve all such disputes through confidential arbitration.”
Plaintiffs are seeking damages, restitution, declaratory relief, and other reliefs. According to a statement from the plaintiff’s attorney, BIG3 has sought to deal with the matter via private arbitration on an individual basis, as opposed to a class.
Last month, the league—which recently began its ninth season—announced that it is seeking to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that would value it around $290 million. The plaintiffs' attorney expects to add an amendment to the lawsuit in light of the SPAC news, according to Front Office Sports.
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