Cyclist Dave Mirra Sues Game Maker

Pro BMX bike rider Dave Mirra has filed suit against Acclaim Entertainment Inc. and is seeking more than $20 million in damages, claiming that a racy video game it publishes has hurt his image.

The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in New York, contends that Acclaim continued to use Mirra’s name and likeness to promote the game “BMX XXX” even after the two sides signed an agreement to disassociate the bike rider from the title.

“It’s a baseless lawsuit, and we’re going to vigorously fight it,” Acclaim spokesman Alan Lewis said.

“BMX XXX” uses the tagline “Keep It Dirty” and features copulating pink poodles, shots of strippers in action and a variety of racing bike stunts.

Some of the nation’s largest retailers have refused to sell the game because of its content, and the weak performance of “XXX” and other games has battered Acclaim’s stock in recent months. In the suit, Mirra said he and Acclaim entered discussions in March about attaching his name to “BMX XXX,” which he claimed was described as a mature, tongue-in-cheek game in the vein of spoof films such as “Airplane!”

But Mirra alleged that the game’s focus was changed after he signed an agreement to lend his name to it.

“During the ongoing development of [the game], but after obtaining Dave Mirra’s approval of the initial concept, Acclaim changed the concept of the game to become more sexually explicit and pornographic, ultimately settling on nudity as a major selling point,” the suit said.

According to the suit, Mirra and Acclaim signed an agreement in July to remove Mirra’s name and likeness from the game and its promotional materials.

But Mirra claims that Acclaim continued to call the game “Dave Mirra BMX XXX” and use his name and likeness in ads and other promotional products for the title.

In November, as Acclaim was shipping “BMX XXX” for major game consoles, it also shipped “Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3” for Nintendo Co.’s portable Game Boy Advance.

The suit comprises 11 claims, including unfair competition and injury to business reputation. It asks for damages of no less than $1 million on each of the claims, plus punitive damages of $20 million.