One Michigan artist is suing the New Orleans Pelicans for a 2024 photo shoot that allegedly stole from what he argues are his copyrighted artworks.
Tyrrell Winston, of Franklin, Michigan, filed a 19-page complaint in the United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan, as obtained by The Times-Picayune via his attorney, Jayaram Law. The suit was originally reported by Sportico.
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The filed complaint comes after Winston said the Pelicans ignored a cease-and-desist order from his legal team in October 2024.
Winston, born in California, is known for his sculptures of deflated basketballs, arranged in "precise grid compositions," according to the complaint and his social media pages. In 2024, the Pelicans posted photos that featured Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram and Daniel Theis posing in front of a grid of deflated basketballs.
"Without authorization, Defendants – a NBA team – created and publicly displayed an unauthorized work substantially similar to Mr. Winston’s copyrighted work (the “Infringing Work”), which was used to promote the Pelicans via their official @pelicansnba Instagram account (the “Infringing Posts”)," Winston's attorney said in the complaint.
The complaint said Winston holds a pair of copyright registrations for his artwork involving the deflated basketballs.
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Winston was the subject of a USA Today sports profile about his deflated-basketball artwork in January 2022. He has many high-profile fans of his work, including former San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who hired the artist to produce three "large-scale sculptures," according to his complaint.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores also bought art from Winston, and his work was featured at a '47 Brand and NBA event during 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
Instagram users called the Pelicans out in the comment section under the original posts, as cited by his attorney.
Instagram comments calling out the New Orleans Pelicans for allegedly stealing artist Tyrrell Winston's deflated basketballs copyrighted art idea. (Screenshot courtesy of Jayaram Law)
The complaint ends with a request to take the matter to trial in federal court. U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker will reportedly preside over the matter.
Sportico suggested the Pelicans are likely to cite "fair use" or highlight that no one owns an idea as defense points to dismiss the case.
