New York federal court judge, Kevin Castel, granted a temporary restraining order barring Reebok, a unit of Adidas AG, from selling Tim Tebow New York Jets jerseys. “The public demand for such Tebow-Jets products spans the entire U.S.,” plaintiff Nike alleged, has led Reebok “to illegitimately seize on this unique and short-lived consumer opportunity.” Nike alleges that only it has agreements with Tebow individually and the licensing arm of the NFL Players Association, allowing the manufacture of jersey’s bearing the quarterback’s name. Reebok’s license with the players association, Nike claims, expired on March 1 — almost three weeks before Tebow was traded, and thus Reebok’s rights should be limited to Tebow apparel bearing his former team’s, the Denver Broncos’, logo.
A hearing is set for April 4.