LeBron, Hennessy, and Deception?

By Jacob Giotto, Staff Writer

Alcohol creates biologically induced headaches in about seven ways, upon a quick search on a search engine—dehydration, vasodilation, histamine release, among other things.^[1] It may need to add another…

A recent advertisement by a massive public figure, announcing his partnership with Hennessy, presumably gave one young man in California a stiff headache, one that is causing him to reach for a legal hand and not Advil.

On Monday, October 6^th, LeBron James, the Los-Angeles Lakers forward, posted a video on his Instagram foreshadowing an upcoming announcement.^[2] Immediately, fans and sports media alike began asking the question: “Is LeBron retiring?”^[3]

His clip mirrored his infamous 2010 “Decision,” which aired on ESPN; in that decision, he joined the Miami Heat and left the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[4] The video in controversy was titled “The Second Decision,” and LeBron captioned the video: “The decision of all decisions.”^[5] So, the logical jump to retirement was a rational one. Right? Lakers coach, and former NBA All-Star, J.J. Reddick said it was obvious that LeBron was not retiring.^[6]Reddick remarked to media, who he insinuated instigated the entire situation, saying to them “You guys are idiots.”^[7] Laughing about the whole situation, then partly conceding to the media, Reddick went on, “we all knew it was an ad, right?”^[8]

At least some thought so. Immediately after James posted the video, Andrew Garcia, a 29-year-old from California, bought two Lakers tickets for the impending season.^[9] Before the video, the cheapest Lakers home tickets to their 2026 season finale on April 12^th against the Utah Jazz were $82.^[10]Following the video, the same tickets jumped to $760.^[11]

The next day, James posted the full clip which showed he was partnering with Hennessy, the popular cognac brand.^[12]The tickets Garcia purchased have since dropped several hundred dollars. He is now suing James for “fraud, deception, misrepresentation, and any and all basis of legal recovery.”^[13]

The controversy gave sports media personalities something to talk about for a day, but may legal scholars want to chime in, too? Distinguished faculty fellow, Professor David Jamison, at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne teaches torts, media, and sports law.^[14] He says Garcia has “no basis for a fraud or misrepresentation action here … The statement was purposely ambiguous and there is no ‘fact’ stated or alluded to—the ‘fact’ existed only in the mind of the fan. Moreover, he would have a very hard time with meeting the test of justifiable reliance, which proceeds from a reasonable person standard. He made a guess, based on his own interpretation of ambiguous words in buying the tickets.” Garcia has gotten the message. The Los-Angeles local has since ended his suit against the 21-time NBA All-Star.^[15]

While Garcia is stuck with his inflated ticket, Hennessey has picked up one of the most prominent figures in pop culture. The French brandy is known as L’eau de vie. Fitting for James, as he is set to begin his 23^rd NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He will turn 41 this year.

^[1]https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/alcohol-headache-after-one-drink#management

^[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DPehEDiD-nJ/

^[3] https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/lebron-james-retirement-decision-announcement/story?id=126267171.

^[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4.

^[5] https://www.instagram.com/p/DPehEDiD-nJ/?hl=en.

^[6] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Td-pt36M9AI.

^[7] Id.

^[8] Id.

^[9] https://www.foxnews.com/sports/lebron-james-faces-lawsuit-from-fan-who-bought-tickets-expecting-retirement-announcement-second-decision.

^[10]https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46513155/los-angeles-lakers-ticket-prices-surge-lebron-james-second-decision-post.

^[11] Id.

^[12] https://www.instagram.com/p/DPgulm6jC7Y/.