Former Los Angeles Lakers coach and executive Jerry West is demanding an apology and a retraction for the way he has been portrayed in the HBO series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers,” ESPN is reporting.
West, 83, and his lawyers sent a letter, obtained by ESPN, to HBO and producer Adam McKay, alleging the series “falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic.”
The series documents the rise of the NBA dynasty that included legendary figures such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Pat Riley, Jerry Buss and Jeanie Buss, as well as West, who is portrayed by Jason Clarke.
The series has been airing on Sunday nights on HBO in the United States and Crave in Canada, and is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.”