New York fans have a reputation for holding their sports teams to a
higher standard of excellence, but it now appears they’ve got a
litigious streak.
Andrew Rector, who famously dozed off in the ballpark’s lower level during an ESPN broadcast of the Yankees-Red Sox game on April 13,
filed a lawsuit this week in the New York State Supreme Court in the
Bronx claiming that disparaging remarks made by the announcers caused
emotional distress.
Rector names Major League Baseball, ESPN, the New York Yankees, Dan
Shulman, and John Kruk as defendants in his three-page complaint. He
does not specify the amount of damages being sought. (You can read the
full document here.) So just what did the ESPN announcers say to hurt Rector’s feelings? The lawsuit alleges:
“[A]nnouncers like Dan Shulman and John Kruk unleashed avalanche
of disparaging words against the person of and concerning the plaintiff.
These words, include but not limited to ‘stupor, fatty, unintelligent,
stupid’ knowing and intending the same to be heard and listened to by
millions of people all over the world…”
The complaint is strange considering that if you watch the clip of
Rector dozing off at the ballpark the announcers never say any of the
insults he alleges in his lawsuit. I can’t see this complaint getting
very far in the courts (I mean c'mon, how do you fall asleep during a
Yanks/BoSox game?) but if Rector needs to take his online humiliation
out on someone, Joe Buck is certainly more deserving than Shulman and
Kruk!
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter: @heylexyg
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