New York – A Yankees fan has filed a $10 million lawsuit against two ESPN announcers claiming they mocked him when he was caught on national television sleeping in his seat during a game at Yankee Stadium.
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In court documents, Andrew Robert Rector admitted he “napped” during a game against the Boston Red Sox on April 13, but said commentators Dan Shulman and John Kruk unleashed an “avalanche of disparaging words” against him. The suit says they used words like “fatty, unintelligent” and “stupid,” knowing they would be heard by millions of people.
Rector says he “suffered substantial injury” to his “character and reputation” and “mental anguish, loss of future income and loss of earning capacity.”
The lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court on Thursday also names ESPN, Major League Baseball and the Yankees as defendants.
ESPN, MLB and the Yankees didn’t immediately respond to email requests for comment.
I really hope he is a white dude!
He should pay them! He was on TV
I’m no lawyer, but he probably has no legal standing. When one purchases a ticket to attend a game, one accepts the rules of the park. Since it’s well known that games are covered by the media and that scanning the crowds is commonplace, the purchaser gives up control over the use of his/her image. Even celebrities who often demand fees for the use of their image have no claim.
As to claims of defamation and so forth, we now enter the murky issue of free speech which, in this case, is strengthened by his voluntarily surrendering his rights at the ticket counter.
Anything to try and make money.
looks like a boring game, can’t blame him for sleeping. The guy next to him also was more interested in his food than the game.
If nasty remarks were directed towards him, well let the court decide.
Oh, for Pete’s sake. Has he ever seen a game on TV? Is he surprised that the audience is scanned and commented on?
That’s the problem with our judicial system we are over litigated on stupidities like this nonsense.
There needs to be a system in place, as in the UK, that requires the losing side of a litigated case to cover all court expenses. In this case, if this individual sues for this ‘naarishkeit’ and loses (I hope) he’d be required to pay all the expenses of having a court in session during the entire proceedings.
This would discourage such ‘shmoigers’, like this one (and my meshuganah neighbor) from suing frivolously just to try to make a quick buck !
I doubt he will prevail. But if the moshav leitzim identified in the article as commentators really called him fatty, unintelligent and stupid, I wish he prevailed. Enough of people trying to start fires with their mouths with impunity!
Not sure why the league and the club are named as defendants. Do they have anything to do with appointing the idiots to blab? I thought TV networks did that…
He can’t work in the future because of this???