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Lawyers representing Patrick Reed are demanding an on-air apology from CNN following remarks made by Jake Tapper and Bob Costas last week.
The price for non-compliance? The threat of a $450MILLION lawsuit.
Larry Klayman, who has represented Reed in his defamation suit against various members of the golf media, has put the broadcaster “on notice” following what he claims was a “highly defamatory piece” titled “The Court Fight Between PGA Tour and LIV Golf Escalates as the Saudi-backed LIV Tries to Avoid Handing Over Information.”
Klayman states: “This widely viewed broadcast in Florida, the nation and internationally, was not only defamatory but also designed to incite ridicule, hatred and violence against LIV Golf players, such as my client Patrick Reed, a world champion professional golfer, by publishing that he takes “blood money” from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy twenty-two years ago.
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“The article also, at a minimum, falsely implies that he using a lawsuit, of which he is not even a party, to dig up data, track down, intimidate and harass 9/11 victim families.
“The broadcast republishes with reckless disregard for the truth, a prior Bloomberg article, and references the Bloomberg article in the broadcast.”
Klayman is calling for an on-air public apology for Reed; the removal and retraction of the broadcast from CNN’s websites, streaming services and other forms of publication; and for Tapper and Costas to be disciplined.
If these terms are not met, Klayman says he reserves the right to sue Tapper, Costas and CNN for in excess of $450million, which includes compensatory, actual, special and punitive damages.
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Klayman pointed out that CNN has faced – and been forced to settle – similar defamation suits in recent years.
He concluded: “Apparently, CNN and its television hosts, have not learned their lesson, this time using the more than willing Tapper and Costas as its dishonest vehicle to despicably increase viewership for profit.”
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