Reeves Nelson sues Time (SI)

[El_Diablo]

http://documents.latimes.com/reeves-nelson-sues-sports-illustrated-over-allegations-article/

Former UCLA Bruin Reeves Nelson is suing Time (parent of Sports Illustrated) for the SI article on him and the UCLA program. He is alleging defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The complaint (provided in the link) includes supporting affidavits by 18 of Nelson's teammates and supposed victims.

[subzero02]

I wonder who convinced Nelson that a lawsuit was more pragmatic than urinating on the writer's clothes.

[tommy]

http://documents.latimes.com/reeves-nelson-sues-sports-illustrated-over-allegations-article/

Former UCLA Bruin Reeves Nelson is suing Time (parent of Sports Illustrated) for the SI article on him and the UCLA program. He is alleging defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The complaint (provided in the link) includes supporting affidavits by 18 of Nelson's teammates and supposed victims.

But not one by his former coach.

[El_Diablo]

But not one by his former coach.

Yes, a conspicuous omission. And one can probably assume that the few players who were omitted were not mere oversights.

I am guessing that the lawsuit is mainly being filed to help Nelson in whatever interviews he has as part of the NBA draft process. And after reading most of the complaint, it looks like SI could have gone a little too far in some of the stories about him, or at least had some bad/incomplete information. Regardless, he probably will not recover anything from SI--and certainly not on the IIED claim--but it at least raises a ton of questions about the legitimacy of the stories themselves, just in time for the draft.

He left his pro team in Europe a few months ago to train full time for the draft, so it appears he thinks he has a chance of getting drafted. But he was a borderline NBA prospect even before the whole meltdown started, so he would probably have to have some seriously compelling workouts to get into the second round at this point. He'll most likely end up overseas again though, so this lawsuit may also help him a little in that respect too. Either way, it will probably be quietly withdrawn after he lands on a new team somewhere.

[niveklaen]

I really don't see how this lawsuit could help his draft status. Why chose to hire someone who is litigious? It seems more like he is creating a big red flag that screams 'stay away' with this suit.

[Jderf]

I really don't see how this lawsuit could help his draft status. Why chose to hire someone who is litigious? It seems more like he is creating a big red flag that screams 'stay away' with this suit.

I see what you're saying, but I think that with the published article from SI, the red flags are already flying. At least the lawsuit offers him a line of defense.

[El_Diablo]

I really don't see how this lawsuit could help his draft status. Why chose to hire someone who is litigious? It seems more like he is creating a big red flag that screams 'stay away' with this suit.

Because if he's going in to interviews claiming that the story is an outrageous bunch of lies, this would tend to add some weight to those assertions (as opposed to saying "yeah, they made all that up, but I'll let it slide."). If the stories are completely untrue, then he SHOULD be suing SI.

I don't think any NBA GMs would be scared off by someone who has a "litigious" propensity in this respect--they work with lawyers and agents all the time. It's a part of the business world. They'd probably be MUCH more worried about a player who assaults teammates and pees on their belongings than about a player who wants to defend his name against defamatory comments made about him.