Couldn't find the original thread if there was one, but this is the settlement of the lawsuit between NBA referee Bill Spooner and AP reporter Jon Krawczynski.
This is about as big of a loss as a non-court judgment as could be for the reporter.
AP pays $20K for legal fees for Bill Spooner and AP issues this statement:
"AP and its reporter Jon Krawczynski learned through discovery that referee Bill Spooner and coach Kurt Rambis have both consistently and independently denied that Mr. Spooner told the coach “he’d get it back” in an exchange that occurred after a disputed call against the Timberwolves on January 24, 2011 as Mr. Krawczynski had tweeted from courtside that night. Mr. Spooner has testified that he instead told the coach he would “get back” to him after reviewing videotape of the play during a halftime break. The NBA conducted a private investigation at that time, which AP was initially unaware of, and concluded that Mr. Spooner had acted properly. AP does not contest the NBA’s finding.
During the game, Mr. Krawczynski tweeted what he believed he had heard. Mr. Krawczynski acknowledges the possibility that he misunderstoond what Mr. Spooner said and has therefore removed the Tweet from his APKrawczynski Twitter feed.”
And a smackdown from the NBRA attorney representing Spooner:
“The integrity of any professional sport depends upon the integrity of its officials,” said NBRA General Counsel Lee Seham. “As far as we’re concerned, the Krawczynski tweet wasn’t just another complaint about a supposedly bad call; it constituted a baseless accusation of dishonesty. And we weren’t going to stand for it.”
“The NBRA appreciates the AP’s issuance, subsequent to the filing of the litigation, of revised social media policies,” said Seham. “The traditional values of the press – including a dedication to truth and accuracy – cannot be compromised by itchy thumbs. The gentlemen and women of the press must hold themselves to a higher standard than that of the inebriated fan.”
Edit: Cleaned up bad formatting. Look at later post for a better linking.
This is about as big of a loss as a non-court judgment as could be for the reporter.
AP pays $20K for legal fees for Bill Spooner and AP issues this statement:
"AP and its reporter Jon Krawczynski learned through discovery that referee Bill Spooner and coach Kurt Rambis have both consistently and independently denied that Mr. Spooner told the coach “he’d get it back” in an exchange that occurred after a disputed call against the Timberwolves on January 24, 2011 as Mr. Krawczynski had tweeted from courtside that night. Mr. Spooner has testified that he instead told the coach he would “get back” to him after reviewing videotape of the play during a halftime break. The NBA conducted a private investigation at that time, which AP was initially unaware of, and concluded that Mr. Spooner had acted properly. AP does not contest the NBA’s finding.
During the game, Mr. Krawczynski tweeted what he believed he had heard. Mr. Krawczynski acknowledges the possibility that he misunderstoond what Mr. Spooner said and has therefore removed the Tweet from his APKrawczynski Twitter feed.”
And a smackdown from the NBRA attorney representing Spooner:
“The integrity of any professional sport depends upon the integrity of its officials,” said NBRA General Counsel Lee Seham. “As far as we’re concerned, the Krawczynski tweet wasn’t just another complaint about a supposedly bad call; it constituted a baseless accusation of dishonesty. And we weren’t going to stand for it.”
“The NBRA appreciates the AP’s issuance, subsequent to the filing of the litigation, of revised social media policies,” said Seham. “The traditional values of the press – including a dedication to truth and accuracy – cannot be compromised by itchy thumbs. The gentlemen and women of the press must hold themselves to a higher standard than that of the inebriated fan.”
Edit: Cleaned up bad formatting. Look at later post for a better linking.
