Snyder Camp Upset!!

[sportscurmudgeon]

I am not a lawyer and I never played one on TV. So, I defer to others with legal competencies here.

I also defer to SmootSmack as a person closely involved in sports journalism when it comes to the concepts of libel/slander/defamation.

With those disclaimers, the saga unfolding here will change dramatically the instant Dan Snyder sues City Paper and/or the author for libel/slander/defamation. Because the instant he does that, the argument changes entirely from the tone of the disucussion ongoing here.

In court, it will have nothing to do with whether or not Danny Boy has changed his ways or has stepped back from football operations or his good intentions for the team and the fans. It will have to do with the legal standards for libel/slander/defamation. And here are two things that are involved in those legal standards:

1. Truth is an absolute/unassailable defense. If the article had accused Danny Boy of torturing kittens every other night for the last ten years to satisfy some sadistic urges that he cannot control, he could win a lawsuit over those charges - - UNLESS - - those charges happen to be true. A reporter can make any statements/accusations about anyone at any time with absolute immunity - - - if the statements/accusations are true.

2. Danny Boy is a "public figure" - - not just your average guy on the street. That has nothing to do with his bank account; it has to do with his being well known and well recognized by the public because of his actions in his life. For public figures, the legal standards also include a showing in a libel/slander/defamation action that the author or the publication had to have malicious intent in publishing the stuff.

Remember, I am not a lawyer. Having said that, for a public figure to win such a lawsuit is no simple matter.

There are folks out there who say they know the author and that he withheld stuff from that article that he could not verify. Let me be clear, I do NOT know the author and I have no idea if those statements are true. However, if the statements of those supporters are correct, that would imply an awful lot of fact-checking on his part prior to publication. A lawsuit would determine just how much fact-checking was done here...

Reports also say that Snyder's lawyers have informed the Washington Post to preserve any and all e-mails between the author here and Post columnist Dan Steinberg. I have no idea if that is an important element of this matter or if this is just a threat to make it seem as if the Snyder lawyers are out for blood. But I will suggest the following:

If Danny Boy drags the Washington Post into a lawsuit and thre is no basis for doing so, he will have violated an old precept of public relations:

Never pick a fight with someone who buys newsprint by the carload and ink by the barrel.

This has the potential to get very interesting...

I wonder if the author and or City Paper will file a counter-suit saying that any action filed by Danny Boy was a frivolous and capricious action? That might be fun too...

In legal proceedings there is a process called, "Discovery". Just a hunch here, but neither side would enjoy jumping through the "Discovery" hoops the other side will construct.