AM 980’s Craig Needles and Corey Sax from Diamond & Diamond Personal Injury Lawyers discussed the controversy surrounding TSN’s mistake on NHL trade deadline day by accidentally broadcasting an inappropriate tweet that impacted Joffrey Lupul (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dion Phaneuf (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Dion Phaneuf’s wife Elisha Cuthbert.
Craig Needles: When something awful or untrue is broadcasted about you, as someone in the public eye, what options do you have legally?
Corey Sax: Legally, you can always sue TSN and the individual who posted the tweet. However, there are significant issues for the players. The more they make of the issue, the longer it drags out in the media and the more attention it puts on the players.
Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf have gone out and hired a lawyer, written a letter to TSN and the individual who posted the tweet threatening a claim against them, demanded a formal apology and requested damages. TSN issued a public apology on air but there is no indication that they have paid any damages.
Craig Needles: if you’re TSN, what would you recommend?
Corey Sax: TSN had two options: try and prove that the statement is true (if true, there really is no basis for the lawsuit) or come out and apologize right away. TSN came out and apologized right away (indicating that they have no information to prove that the statement is true). With this apology, TSN basically admitted that they’re liable for the incident. I would not have recommended it to them, but I think that they realized they were over their heads and had no defense to what happened.
Looking for more? The rest of the interview, including audio, can be found on Diamond and Diamond’s “Know Your Rights” Blog.
