Chalk this one up as a major loss for Gilbert Arenas.
After trying to prevent his former fiancée, Laura Govan, from appearing on the new VH-1 reality series Basketball Wives L.A., a California federal judge has rendered her final decision in the case, but not without issuing some harsh words for the NBA superstar.
Though Arenas and his lawyers tried to assert that Govan’s participation in the show and the mere use of the Basketball Wives title (which, I think we all agree could use a change) would be infringing upon his rights, the judge ruled that “No one would confuse Arenas with a basketball wife,” and “any references in BWLA to Arenas will be incidental to the show’s plot as a whole.”
Judge Dolly Gee added that there’s little evidence of “actual malice,” thus shutting down Arenas’ claims of defamation.
Even worse, the judge suggested that Gilbert Arenas actually watch the show to spot any gross misappropriation of his likeness and then file an amended complaint in the future. Poor guy. No one deserves that kind of punishment. But at least he’s got enough money to hire someone to watch it for him! Otherwise, he'll be subjected to lots of this:
And yes, that's Laura Govan getting ready to throw down at the end of the clip. Anyone else secretly anticipating this season?
Basketball Wives, L.A. premieres Monday, August 29 on VH-1 at 8|7c.
