In a sworn declaration filed in a Boston federal court on Monday, Michael Hermalyn says DraftKings has “entirely fabricated” a case against its former senior vice president, who is battling DraftKings in two lawsuits being heard in courthouses 3,000 miles apart.
In January, Hermalyn left DraftKings to join Fanatics for what he says was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to report directly to the Chair and CEO of Fanatics Holdings, Inc., Michael Rubin.” Last week, Hermalyn and Fanatics sued DraftKings in California, insisting that a noncompete clause in his DraftKings contract violated California laws that make many noncompetes illegal. 
On Monday, DraftKings sued Hermalyn in Massachusetts, where case law is comparatively more favorable toward noncompetes and which Hermalyn contractually accepted has jurisdiction over the agreement. DraftKings portrays Hermalyn as cultivating a relationship with Fanatics for about 11 months and, to Fanatics’ gain, misappropriating trade secrets involving clients and employees. 

Hermalyn’s declaration, signed under penalty of perjury (a felony charge), forcefully denies DraftKings’ accusations, which he says stem from “completely false and fabricated accusations.” The declaration is intended to dissuade U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick from issuing a temporary restraining order that would bar Hermalyn from providing any services to Fanatics.

Hermalyn contends the “first time” he “looked into joining Fanatics” was in January 2024—not, as DraftKings surmises, February 2023. “There was no secret plan to steal or use information,” Hermalyn added, “or to solicit customers or employees, much less a year-long plan.”
As far as he’s aware, Hermalyn wrote, “not a single client or employee has moved from DraftKings to Fanatics Holdings.”
Hermalyn also argues DraftKings’ assertion that he lied about visiting Pennsylvania to mourn the loss of a friend last month “is both wrong and disappointing.” He said that week “was particularly difficult for me emotionally” since a close friend had died and he was contemplating switching jobs. Hermalyn said he purposefully did not attend DraftKings meetings once he expected to join Fanatics.
Kobick will hold a hearing Thursday on the potential temporary restraining order. On Tuesday, the judge denied Hermalyn’s motion to stay (postpone) the Massachusetts case, where he is a defendant, until the case in California, where he is a plaintiff, is resolved. Hermalyn invoked the first-to-file rule, which holds that when parties sue each other in different courts—each hoping for a more favorable forum—the first to file is normally where the dispute is heard. 
But Kobick declined to stay the case, noting, among other reasons, “Hermalyn signed a confidentiality agreement and a noncompetition covenant with DraftKings expressly stating” he accepts the jurisdiction of a federal court in Massachusetts “for any dispute” related to his contractual relationship with DraftKings.

This is the latest public spat between Fanatics and DraftKings—two multibillion-dollar companies that are expanding rapidly into new ways to cater to sports fans. Last year, Fanatics’ proposed acquisition of PointsBet’s U.S. business was interrupted when DraftKings submitted a non-binding offer that it said was superior. At the time, Rubin dismissed the move as an attempt to block the deal. DraftKings never submitted a binding offer, and Fanatics ended up making the acquisition at a price 50% higher than the original offer. 
Matt King, the CEO of Fanatics’ nascent betting business, was previously CEO of FanDuel when that company had a bitter rivalry with DraftKings.