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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Nick Saban plans to continue 'Shop Talk' program; LeBron James says not so fast

College Football, NBA, Alabama Crimson Tide, Cleveland Cavaliers

Alabama coach Nick Saban said Tuesday that he doesn't plan to scrap a program that drew a complaint earlier this week from LeBron James and his media platform Uninterrupted. 

But that doesn't mean the Cavaliers star is backing down, either. 

It started last week, when Alabama released a trailer on Twitter for "Shop Talk" showing Saban and Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones -- who played college ball for the Crimson Tide coach -- in a barbershop setting. 

On Monday, Uninterrupted sent a letter to Alabama, citing concerns over copyright infringement, trademark rights and intellectual property. Those concerns stemmed from a show the platform aired last year called "The Shop," where James, Golden State forward Draymond Green and others talk in a barbershop. A second episode followed in March in which James spoke about his infrequent driving habits, and the filming of content for a third has been completed.

"Your continued exploitation of 'Shop Talk' infringes 'UNINTERRUPTED's' copyright, trademark rights and other valuable intellectual property rights in 'The Shop' and significantly damages 'UNINTERRUPTED's' commercial prospects for 'The Shop, " according to the letter sent to Alabama.

However, none of James' businesses have a copyright or trademark associated with "The Shop," which would make this an intellectual property claim.

Speaking Tuesday, Saban said he didn't know about James' show. 

"I think LeBron James is a great player," the coach said. "There's been at least 20 barbershop-type things I've seen. I didn't even know he had one. I'm sorry anybody could be offended by something we were just trying to have fun with. I enjoyed it and we're going to continue to do it."

James responded to Saban's rebuttal following the Cavaliers' 112-106 win over the Raptors on Tuesday night. 

"I mean, I think you guys know Nick Saban more than me from a media perspective," he said. "You guys know Nick Saban more than I do, so that's exactly what I would think he would say. I built Uninterrupted for a reason and for us athletes to have a platform to be able to speak about whatever we want to talk about. I respect him as a coach, but I'll be damned if I'll allow someone to use our platform or try to do the same thing we're doing and just think it's OK.

"So, the lawyers will figure it out."

On Monday, an Alabama spokeswoman told ESPN that the university was notified of the complaint from Uninterrupted earlier in the day and was reviewing the matter. 

Legal representatives from the university and Uninterrupted engaged in a dialogue Tuesday and both sides expressed an interest in working together, a source familiar with the conversation told ESPN. It was characterized as a productive discussion about how to work together on a solution, the source said, adding that Saban's remarks Tuesday were not consistent with what was discussed by the two legal teams. 

When asked by ESPN how Uninterrupted planned to proceed following Saban's comment, a representative for the company declined to say what steps it will take.

ESPN's Darren Rovell and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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