An attorney representing Patrick Reed has added yet another lawsuit to a lengthy list of recent filings against media companies and personalities.
During a segment on CNN last week, studio host Jake Tapper chatted with longtime announcer and reporter Bob Costas about the court battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. A letter from Larry Klayman, the attorney representing Reed, is demanding an on-air apology from the duo for what it calls a “highly defamatory piece.”
If not, Klayman’s letter says his group reserves the right “to sue Tapper, Costas and CNN pursuant to Florida Statute 770.01 for damages well in excess of $450,000,000 dollars which includes compensatory, actual, special and punitive damages.”
It should be noted that the piece didn’t include a mention of Reed, who has fallen down to No. 80 on the Official World Golf Ranking since moving to LIV Golf.
In 2022, Klayman filed and then refiled a $750 million defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack, Shane Bacon, as well as Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch and its parent company, Gannett, then added a $250 million lawsuit against author Shane Ryan, Hachette Publishing, the New York Post and Fox Sports, as well as Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson and the organization for whom he works.
absolutely HOWLING at Gannett/Golfweek's response to Patrick Reed's defamation suit lobbed at them
So glad we've reached this moment pic.twitter.com/eoWqOYN6SY
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) January 15, 2023
In civil cases, plaintiffs have to prove whether a defendant is liable, not whether a defendant is guilty. The suit was filed by Klayman, a Florida-based attorney who has been on the losing end of a number of defamation lawsuits, including one in which Arizona politician “Sheriff Joe” Arpaio sued several national media outlets, alleging they defamed him and impacted his attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat.
The original suit against Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel said the group had “conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, it’s (sic) executives and it’s Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed, misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard for the truth … purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him … ”
The new suit takes aim at Tapper and his political commentary, especially in regard to former President Donald Trump, who is tied to a number of golf properties.
At one time, I had known Jake Tapper to a moderately honest journalist and commentator, but after the election of President Donald Trump, he sold his soul to the hierarchy of CNN, then headed by rabid Trump-hater Jeff Zucker. Ever since, CNN and Tapper pliantly have been on a crusade to destroy Trump, which crusade apparently appeals to CNN’s generally leftist viewership, and reaps profit for the network. Interestingly, a person with the last name Zucker is referenced in the subject broadcast.
While Jeff Zucker has since been fired at the CEO of CNN over alleged misconduct with a subordinate at CNN, his legacy as a Trump-hater lives on and Tapper continues his unhinged vicious attacks on not just Trump but anyone and anything associated with him, such as LIV Golf, which simply played two events at the former president’s golfing venues in New Jersey and Florida last year, which LIV Golf payed (sic) for.”
