Deadspin loses bid to toss defamation suit

[Ranb]

Deadspin loses bid to toss defamation suit over article accusing young Chiefs fan of racism
https://nypost.com/2024/10/08/media...-article-accusing-young-chiefs-fan-of-racism/

A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against sports website Deadspin over an article accusing a 9-year-old NFL fan and his family of racism because of his game-day attire.

The lawsuit was filed by California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife, Shannon, on behalf of themselves and their son, Holden, who attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders last November.

According to the lawsuit, Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “H.A.”, is a Chiefs fan who also loves his family’s Chumash-Indian heritage. He wore a Chiefs jersey to the game, with his face painted half-red and half-black, and a costume Native American headdress.

“Having reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing H.A. of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg added.

Lugg also refused to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, instead of Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. One month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing, and the entire staff was laid off.

Another article. https://nypost.com/2023/12/08/news/deadspin-tweaks-story-on-9-year-old-chiefs-fans-blackface/

Ranb

 

[Brainster]

Deadspin loses bid to toss defamation suit over article accusing young Chiefs fan of racism
https://nypost.com/2024/10/08/media...-article-accusing-young-chiefs-fan-of-racism/


Another article. https://nypost.com/2023/12/08/news/deadspin-tweaks-story-on-9-year-old-chiefs-fans-blackface/

Ranb

Glad to hear it; hope they lose their shirts. They went out of their way to find this kid some horrible racist, when apparently everybody at the stadium thought his outfit was terrific. This was a Chiefs' outfit at the Raiders' stadium and nobody there found it offensive.

 

[Puppycow]

I have no idea what they will find. I do remember that Elon Musk got away with calling some guy "pedo guy" with no evidence whatsoever.

Aside: re-reading an article about the verdict, I realize that Unsworth's attorney was none other than the infamous Lin Wood, known for his claims about the 2020 election. This case predated that saga.

Insults and statements of opinion are considered protected speech, and Musk's argument was that it was an insult, not a statement of fact.

This case is different though because it involves a child who wasn't a public figure by any stretch of the imagination and the kid didn't start the beef either.

 

[arthwollipot]

I have no idea what they will find. I do remember that Elon Musk got away with calling some guy "pedo guy" with no evidence whatsoever.

Funny thing about that is that I actually believed him when he said that he used it as a generic insult and didn't intend to imply that the guy was an actual pedophile. Like calling someone a "wanker" without implying that they are literally masturbating.

 

[Puppycow]

Funny thing about that is that I actually believed him when he said that he used it as a generic insult and didn't intend to imply that the guy was an actual pedophile. Like calling someone a "wanker" without implying that they are literally masturbating.

To me, the difference is that certain terms, like wanker, are generally recognized insult terms, like the word for the the body part where the poop comes out, whereas I don't think "pedo guy" is a word like that. To me it implies exactly that, like the word "nonce," "kiddy-diddler" or "pederast" for example.

 

[arthwollipot]

To me, the difference is that certain terms, like wanker, are generally recognized insult terms, like the word for the the body part where the poop comes out, whereas I don't think "pedo guy" is a word like that. To me it implies exactly that, like the word "nonce," "kiddy-diddler" or "pederast" for example.

I suspect this is cultural, and Pedo Guy is, or rather was, a generic insult when he was growing up in South Africa. His using it with a worldwide audience was a stunning piece of cultural ignorance, if that is the case.

 

[Manger Douse]

I suspect this is cultural, and Pedo Guy is, or rather was, a generic insult when he was growing up in South Africa. His using it with a worldwide audience was a stunning piece of cultural ignorance, if that is the case.

I suspect Musk called him Pedo Guy because Unsworth emigrated to Thailand where there's a high amount of sex tourism

 

[GraculusTheGreenBird]

Funny thing about that is that I actually believed him when he said that he used it as a generic insult and didn't intend to imply that the guy was an actual pedophile. Like calling someone a "wanker" without implying that they are literally masturbating.

I didn't believe that for a moment.

Because when he got blowback about it, he tweeted : "Betcha I am right" which indicates he new EXACTLY what he was saying.

 

[Ian Osborne]

I suspect Musk called him Pedo Guy because Unsworth emigrated to Thailand where there's a high amount of sex tourism

That's exactly what I assumed. I was very surprised when Musk won.

 

[TragicMonkey]

That's exactly what I assumed. I was very surprised when Musk won.

Musk is very rich, of course he won. Did anybody think it would ever go the other way?

 

[Matthew Best]

Me. I did.

 

[arthwollipot]

I didn't believe that for a moment.

Because when he got blowback about it, he tweeted : "Betcha I am right" which indicates he new EXACTLY what he was saying.

Quite possibly.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

I have no idea what they will find. I do remember that Elon Musk got away with calling some guy "pedo guy" with no evidence whatsoever.

Aside: re-reading an article about the verdict, I realize that Unsworth's attorney was none other than the infamous Lin Wood, known for his claims about the 2020 election. This case predated that saga.

Insults and statements of opinion are considered protected speech, and Musk's argument was that it was an insult, not a statement of fact.

This case is different though because it involves a child who wasn't a public figure by any stretch of the imagination and the kid didn't start the beef either.

That case was actually one of the first signs that Wood had lost his marbles.

 

[jeremyp]

That's exactly what I assumed. I was very surprised when Musk won.

Unsworth’s lawyer was absolutely terrible. It should have been a slam dunk.

 

[d4m10n]

Deadspin becomes woker, perhaps broker

I find it instructive to see the differences between the original article and the current version.

Deadspin could have easily avoided this controversy by doing some basic journalism here, such as rewinding the tape and checking both sides of this kid's face. Experienced enjoyers of North American gridiron football shouldn't be surprised by the half-and-half paint job.

 

[SpuriusMaximus]

They could have also avoided by doing a retraction, when that was pointed out to them. Which is really what the kid's parents first asked for. But the reporter and Deadspin chose to just double down on it, even after it was pointed out.

Which IMHO is going to make their court case a bit harder to win. The bar for libel in the USA is fairly high. Like, you actually have to have known better, which normally is nearly impossible to prove. But the moment it was shown to them that his statements are in fact false and they still doubled down on it... yeah.

 

[Shrinker]

I’m curious if there’s any actual relationship between the Deadspin that’s getting sued and the Deadspin of the time. I know all the staff were laid off and what’s left was sold. It doesn’t sound like there’s a single person in common between the two and new Deadspin seems to have dumped all the culture war snark and rage-bait headlines.

 

[d4m10n]

I’m curious if there’s any actual relationship between the Deadspin that’s getting sued and the Deadspin of the time.

Defendants G/O Media (formerly Gizmodo) remain on the hook despite selling off Deadspin to new ownership.

 

[pipelineaudio]

If they were gizmodo nobody in the universe is going to believe they didn't do this on purpose.Their entire brand was oppression olympics and crybullying

 

[Suddenly]

I’m curious if there’s any actual relationship between the Deadspin that’s getting sued and the Deadspin of the time. I know all the staff were laid off and what’s left was sold. It doesn’t sound like there’s a single person in common between the two and new Deadspin seems to have dumped all the culture war snark and rage-bait headlines.

The original deadspin staff that quit and walked out en masse left several years ago (2019 maybe?) and they started the Defector which is doing just fine as an employee owned site. Since then I think there have been a few attempts to reinvent deadspin to get some value out of the IP but none of them have been worth considering.