Hoax story on OU players

[SockPuppet]

Hope this isn't a DB:
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10892643

Some thoughts/questions:
1. Any similarities to the rush to report (by 2 radio stations) this story and the DaSilva debate regarding blogs/journalism/etc.?
2. Should the Oklahoman press charges against this douche bag fan?
3. Does this further undermine "the media's" credibility with paranoid football coaches?

 

[Armchair_QB]

This was on the News board but it probably should be here anyway.

OU should go after this ****.

The paper should go after this ****

The families should go after this ****.

I thought the quote from the back-up QB's dad was great. If he can afford it he should keep this clown tied up in court until the guy is homeless.

 

[SockPuppet]

Thanks, AQB. Sorry I missed the thread on the News board.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Yeah, I almost posted a new thread this morning until I saw the thread named something like: "Fanboy gets busted," which was hardly self-explanatory (it was also referenced in the Cowherd vs. SportsJournalists.com thread).

For whatever reason, this story isn't getting as much run here as it is on the college football fan boards ...

 

[collegewriter]

From the AP's Names in the Game:

OKLAHOMA CITY — The publisher of Oklahoma's largest newspaper and one of its sports writers have sued a University of Texas employee who admitted posting a bogus article on the Internet about two University of Oklahoma football players.

The Oklahoma Publishing Co., which publishes The Oklahoman newspaper and newsok.com Web site, filed a civil lawsuit Monday against James W. Conradt, a Nebraska football fan who works as a service manager for UT's information technology department.

The 10-count civil lawsuit accuses Conradt of libel, copyright violations and trademark infringements. It seeks unspecified financial damages, according to The Oklahoman.

Conradt, 36, used a template from the newspaper's Web site to publish a fake article on the Internet on July 9 that stated OU quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Landry Jones had been arrested for intent to distribute cocaine, the lawsuit alleges.

Conradt allegedly put a link to the article on his Web site and on an online message board.

The lawsuit claims Conradt used sportswriter Jake Trotter's byline and various trademarks to give the bogus article the appearance of legitimacy.

A telephone message left Tuesday at Conradt's office was not immediately returned, and court records do not indicate if he has hired an attorney. Conradt's Web site has been taken down and replaced by a message apologizing for the hoax.

———

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

This guy was stupid, and I hope he pays out the butt for his error in judgment. This **** does absolutely no good.

 

[beardpuller]

You gotta hope the next story about this identifies him as an EX University of Texas employee.

 

[Norman Stansfield]

At what point does doing something so stupid actually seem like a good idea?

The guy should pay some sort of penance, yes, but he doesn't need to be locked up for 10 years or anything.

 

[zebracoy]

Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard to believe that so many people would be duped by a site that looks like the Oklahoman but is located at http://www.geocities.com/users/utexasfanboiloosersite.

 

[DemoChristian]

I understand all the arguments, but I don't like the idea of a newspaper suing someone for something that was written.
I wish they would just let it go. Let the players worry about whether they are going to court, but even they likely won't suffer any actual damages from this idiot's actions.

 

[Armchair_QB]

It's funny that he's being referred to as a Texas employee now. When the story broke he was referred to as a Nebraska alum, which he is, and the whole thing started as a result of a pissing match on a Nebraska fan site.

 

[Armchair_QB]

At what point does doing something so stupid actually seem like a good idea?

The guy should pay some sort of penance, yes, but he doesn't need to be locked up for 10 years or anything.

He needs to be made an example of. The paper, the school and the players need to sue the **** out of him.

 

[TheMethod]

If this guy doesn't get his **** pushed in in court, we run the risk of this kind of thing becoming a cool thing to do.

 

[tonysoprano]

Oklahoman has every right to sue.

And yes, it sounds harsh, but this fella needs to be made an example of.

 

[Cadet]

I understand all the arguments, but I don't like the idea of a newspaper suing someone for something that was written.
I wish they would just let it go. Let the players worry about whether they are going to court, but even they likely won't suffer any actual damages from this idiot's actions.

He's not being sued for something he wrote. He's being sued for infringement of trademarks, libel (because he published a false report) and using the reporter's byline. It's protection of their brand and the reporter's name. Lose that integrity and you lose a lot of credibility.

This story makes me sick on a number of levels. I hope this idiot is sued into oblivion.

 

[Football_Bat]

This guy has two strikes against him already. He's an employee of the University of Texas and he's a Nebraska fanboy BLOGger.

This jackass needs to be sued for the oxygen he's stealing.

 

[Armchair_QB]

If this guy doesn't get his **** pushed in in court, we run the risk of this kind of thing becoming a cool thing to do.

Exactly.

 

[finishthehat]

I've read a couple of stories, but none of them named the actual radio stations that put the fake story on air.

Does anyone know?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Does it bother anyone that the paper made reference to the story without confirming anything?

 

[BB Bobcat]

Wait, this thread is not about Ohio University!!!!!!

I see, it's U of O. :)