BorderEevilIII
02-02-2005, 01:37 AM
Yankee Baseball Legend Sues Over 'Yogasms' in Ad
Tue Feb 1, 7:50 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York Yankee great Yogi Berra, whose comments can confound a listener, is speaking very clearly these days -- he says a cable network showing "Sex and the City" reruns is damaging his reputation and he wants $10 million.
Famed for such sayings as "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" and "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded," Berra is not known for matinee-idol good looks or sex appeal.
So he says his rights are being violated and he is being held up to ridicule by the Turner Broadcasting System, which is using his name in outdoor ads without his permission to promote reruns of HBO hit "Sex and the City."
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last week, and made public on Tuesday, said that Turner, a unit of Time Warner Inc., "is in wanton disregard for the rights of Mr. Berra" because it was using his name on billboard, buses and other facilities" to promote reruns of the popular sex comedy.
At issue are "'Yogasms." The ads ask for a definition of a "Yogasm" with the following possible answers: a) a type of yo-yo trick, b) sex with Yogi Berra and c) what Samantha (a character on the program) has with a guy from yoga class."
The lawsuit added that the 79-year-old Berra is married, has children and grandchildren and "is a deeply religious man who has maintained and continues to maintain a moral lifestyle and has a spotless reputation for integrity, decency and moral character."
Therefore, the lawsuit said the ads "damaged his otherwise spotless reputation, is hurtful to his personal sensibilities and has created a false image."
"We do not comment on litigation," Samantha Graham, a TBS spokeswoman told Reuters.
From Yahoo News! (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050202/people_nm/people_yogi_dc)
Tue Feb 1, 7:50 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York Yankee great Yogi Berra, whose comments can confound a listener, is speaking very clearly these days -- he says a cable network showing "Sex and the City" reruns is damaging his reputation and he wants $10 million.
Famed for such sayings as "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" and "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded," Berra is not known for matinee-idol good looks or sex appeal.
So he says his rights are being violated and he is being held up to ridicule by the Turner Broadcasting System, which is using his name in outdoor ads without his permission to promote reruns of HBO hit "Sex and the City."
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last week, and made public on Tuesday, said that Turner, a unit of Time Warner Inc., "is in wanton disregard for the rights of Mr. Berra" because it was using his name on billboard, buses and other facilities" to promote reruns of the popular sex comedy.
At issue are "'Yogasms." The ads ask for a definition of a "Yogasm" with the following possible answers: a) a type of yo-yo trick, b) sex with Yogi Berra and c) what Samantha (a character on the program) has with a guy from yoga class."
The lawsuit added that the 79-year-old Berra is married, has children and grandchildren and "is a deeply religious man who has maintained and continues to maintain a moral lifestyle and has a spotless reputation for integrity, decency and moral character."
Therefore, the lawsuit said the ads "damaged his otherwise spotless reputation, is hurtful to his personal sensibilities and has created a false image."
"We do not comment on litigation," Samantha Graham, a TBS spokeswoman told Reuters.
From Yahoo News! (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050202/people_nm/people_yogi_dc)