NBA ref sues AP reporter for 'defamatory' tweet

Was the ref promising a make-up call? I'd like to think the ref was just trying to get Rambis to shut up by saying a call would go the T-Wolves way down the line.

The lawsuit is silly, though, because if the ref said those words, he's not getting squat.

 

Maybe he just wants to make life miserable for Krawczynski. If this goes to court the writer has to hire a lawyer. Any word on whether or not the paper will cover his legal costs to fight this?

 

Who says it has to go in the silly gamer?

What about notebook? Sidebar? Or just a blurb.

For those assuming it was fine to post in cyberspace, give me one reason why NOT to put it in the print edition.

 

I don't think twitter is necessarily bad just because it leads to this sort of thing, but it is dangerous. It's almost like a special kind of high speed car that you ought to have some extra drivers' license to operate.

I just think that there needs to be more industry awareness, including from editors who want their reporters to tweet, of the downside. Rather than just say "I want you to tweet" it should be "I want you to tweet A, B and C, but not X, Y and Z." Also, "I reserve the right to discipline you for the content of your tweets, the same as I would for the content of your other copy."

I still believe twitter is the best thing going for quick dissemination of news. It's when people throw out opinions or one-liners that the trouble starts.

 

Even if he didn't say those words he's not getting squat.

 

I'm amazed that there are still reporters on the sidelines. I thought college and NBA teams all sold those seats to fans and bumped the media to less desirable spots.

And I can't see how any NBA player, coach or ref can have an expectation of privacy with anything that goes on the court seeing as how there are fans - including right behind or next to the bench - and TV cameras everywhere.

Has the reporter come out to say he heard the ref say this, read his lips, was being sarcastic, etc?

 

i didn't mean to imply it couldn't go in a notebook or whatever. i was just arguing against the crowd that thinks that if you wouldn't put it in a gamer it's somehow not worth reporting.

 

By filing a lawsuit the ref makes this into a much bigger story. He may well come to regret that move.

 

Even the NBA is distancing itself from the ref...

 

Seems unlikely the league would appreciate its officials being deposed on the topic of 'makeup calls.'

 

I understand.

But there seems to be a perception that "Twitter is a different medium" so different standards should apply.

I disagree. It's a different medium in that you can't just post 140-word thoughts in print.

But the same standards should apply. If it's acceptable for Twitter, it should be acceptable for print.

 

I don't see how Tweeting something absolves a professional journalist from still adhering to the standards of his craft. In this case, that would mean holding off on the Twitter and then seeking out Rambis and the referee after the game. It wasn't like this "scoop" was going to get out between the second quarter and postgame.

Or go ahead and Tweet it. But still go talk to the principals. Don't just settle for what you observed without seeking clarification. An AP reporter wouldn't hesitate to ask the key people in a buzzer-beating play "What happened?" So why throw this sort of inflammatory thing on Twitter and then do no follow-up?