Re: Man awarded $25 million after Oklahoma newspaper mistakenly identified him as sports announcer who made racist comments

[Media accountability]

On 31 Jan 2022, Molly Bolt <mollyth...@gmail.com> posted some
news:a77ac2b6-5e9f-44aa...@googlegroups.com:

> But it's okay for Rashida Tlaib to curse, libel, and defame others.

An Oklahoma jury awarded a man $25 million on Monday after finding the
state's largest newspaper defamed him when they mistakenly identified
him as the announcer who made racist comments during a 2021 broadcast of
a girls basketball game.

The jury in Muskogee County awarded Scott Sapulpa $5 million in actual
damages and another $20 million in punitive damages.

"We're just so happy for Scott. Hopefully this will vindicate his name,"
said Michael Barkett, Sapulpa's attorney.

Sapulpa alleged defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional
distress, and the jury found The Oklahoman acted with actual malice,
which permitted them to consider punitive damages, Barkett said.

Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for the newspaper's owner, Gannett,
said in a statement the company was disappointed with the verdict and
planned to appeal.

"There was no evidence presented to the jury that The Oklahoman acted
with any awareness that what was reported was false or with any
intention to harm the plaintiff in this case," Anton said.

The incident occurred in 2021 before the Norman-Midwest City girls high
school basketball game when an announcer for a livestream cursed and
called one team by a racial epithet as the players kneeled during the
national anthem.

The broadcasters told their listeners on the livestream that they would
return after a break. Then one, apparently not realizing the audio was
still live, said: "They're kneeling? (Expletive) them," one of the men
said. "I hope Norman gets their ass kicked ... (Expletive) (epithet)."

Sapulpa, one of two announcers, was initially identified by the
newspaper as the person who made the racist comment.

Sapulpa's lawyers said that he faced threats after the incident.

"Sapulpa, once a respected teacher and coach, faced a barrage of
threats, hate calls, and messages after the story was published and
picked up by other media outlets, leading to his virtual termination
from his position," lawyer Cassie Barkett said in a statement. "The
impact extended to Sapulpa's personal life, forcing him to delete all
social media accounts as his contact information went viral, resulting
in further harassment."

Matt Rowan, the owner and operator of the streaming service, later told
The Oklahoman he was the person who made the remarks. Rowan apologized
and in a statement to TMZ, he blamed his use of racist language on his
blood-sugar levels.

"I will state that I suffer Type 1 Diabetes and during the game, my
sugar was spiking," Rowan said in a statement to TMZ. "While not
excusing my remarks, it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I
become disoriented and often say things that are not appropriate as well
as hurtful."

The Oklahoman said it corrected the online story within 2 ½ hours and
Sapulpa's name did not appear in the print version of the story.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-sapulpa-25-million-the-oklahoman-mista
kenly-identified-him-racist-announcer/