Article was the opinion of writer and is not actionable and any case would be dismissed on summary judgment
He didn't state it as opinion. He could easily have put a lot of words in that said "In my opinion" and "I believe" and so on. Instead he wrote the article as a series of facts. The bolded parts are not stated as opinion, they are stated as fact. Read the entire article and it becomes clear that Nawrocki was operating with malice towards Geno given that he was writing a comparative piece between two QB's and chose to do a hatchet job on one while propping the other up. http://www.profootballweekly.com/2013/04/01/barkley-smith-scouting-reports Explain to me how Nawrocki could definitively say that Geno Smith was not a student of the game?
Jesus Christ. This isn't slanderous, this reads more as character assassination. And I'm not a fan of Geno Smith.
Unfortunately, you also can't prove that the bolded parts a decisively false, which is required in libel cases along with "malice."
Sure you can. There are plenty of character witnesses from Geno's college and HS that can be brought up. Remember this would not be a criminal but rather a civil case. And so you don't need to prove "beyond reasonable doubt", just have to get more than 50%.
To make my position clearer: Nawrocki did not say that Geno Smith didn't appear to be a student of the game, based on conversations he'd had with him or others. He said he was not a student of the game. He had to have some basis to make that statement or he was libeling Geno Smith. Telling a lie about somebody, particularly for your own gain - and Nawrocki was selling that review, is actionable if that lie has economic ramifications for the person you tell it about. The other comments that are not about his play on the field but about his character and mannerisms are equally subjective and equally likely to have harmed Geno Smith's draft standing. I think if Geno Smith met Nawrocki in a court of law that he would have no problem getting many witnesses to come in and refute Nawrocki's claims. At that point it would be up to Nawrocki to defend his claims by either producing clear evidence that they were true or by producing witnesses willing to provide clear evidence of such. Obviously it's up to the jury to figure out whether Geno Smith was actually libeled by Nawrocki. I just think the way the review was written and the fact that Geno Smith then dropped precipitously in the draft leaves Nawrocki wide open to a suit.
Are we really talking about filing libel lawsuits against sports writers for their scouting reports? Do you understand how dangerous the ramifications could be for the entire industry if that lawsuit were actually successful? It would be akin to suing a critic over an unflattering movie review. Scouting reports (and often movie reviews) are written to read brief and to-the-point. There is no time for "It is my opinion that..." or "I get the sense from talking to people that...". Everybody already knows that they are unreliable and amount to nothing more than one person's premature opinion based on limited information. One writer's bad scouting report might be able to change the media's perception of a player, but the people who actually draft these players take a much more extensive look at the information available, and most likely wouldn't be deterred by one person's opinion like this at all. I seriously doubt this costed Geno a round, or even one spot, unless some of these claims corresponded with other things that teams saw.
I would hope no one would sue. Don't need that kind of distraction. Just go whip some ass on the field and you'll get your paycheck.
I think agents generally deserve it (as a group). They swarm on these athletes and make all sorts of poorly-reasoned pleas as to why the athlete should pick them. They prey on the poor judgment of young athletes. And so they deserve to get fired on a poorly-reasoned basis. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Ummmm..i hate to be so impolitic as to point this out, but...essentially its a scouting report, which makes it....opinion.
You can't be suggesting that NFL scouts be required to write "IMHO" before every sentence they write and disseminate. Big fan of yours, Br4d, but you haven't a leg to stand on. It's implicit in the format of the reports that scouts are stating their own POV. Nothing remotely factual is being discussed. "Not a student of the game," in a legal sense, might as well be "Shamalamadingdong." It's meaningless. edit: if Nawrocki wrote, "Smith recently ran a 7.43 40" or "Smith once threw a bag of live kittens into a bonfire," those would be facts, and that would be different.
As long as he doesn't hire Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod I couldn't give a shit what he does with his representation...
Not sure if a case would have merit, I imagine not, but it's somewhat interesting conversationally. Can't imagine that this is a lawsuit that would ever be brought however because it would be stepping all over the toes of way too many people in the league if this ever became an issue. Even if Smith had a case and thought he might win it would still be borderline career-suicidal to go legally attacking the media machine that makes the NFL run. He doesn't have the credentials or connections as a 2nd round rookie QB to potentially alienate himself to who knows how many league insiders. The whole situation is kind of a non-discussion but it does somewhat suck for Geno if it impacted his slide. As far as recourse goes I think he pretty much has to play well and prove the mistake to the teams that passed on him twice. If he does that the Jets are the winners in the situation and Geno will get his money in the end. If not it just gives credence to whatever concerns there were and there won't be much of an argument that a critical scouting report killed his career.
not sure who these drafted out of college players think they are but, they ain`t nothing in the NFL. Oh yeah, EVERYONE thinks they should be #1. I also think I should`ve won the Powerball last night because I`m better than ANYONE else on this planet. That ain`t how it works though. There should be a salary scale in all sports, even for the owners and the NFL itself. They just have way too much money imo. Not sure how something like that can be done for owners and the league but it can be done for players. I`m tired of these players thinking they are the ones who sell tickets. I have NEVER purchased tickets to any sporting even because of a player being on the team. Players move around teams so often their loyalty is non-existant and shouldn`t be any reason for a fan to spend his money. Wake up people.
This agents are fucking cut throats. If they felt they could make more money cutting a player loose they'd do it in an instant & there wouldn't be any headlines afterwards. Who cares what agents these players go with. The only thing fans should care about is if their team can afford to fit that player into its salary cap. That's it. Whatever agent lines their pockets as players continue their careers should be a non-factor for us.
you are obviously not a mets fan, the only reason to go to the park these days is to see matt harvey pitch.
