Appeals Court Affirms Ruling against Temple Coach in Defamation Case

A Pennsylvania appeals court has affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment to a journalist, who cited an anonymous source in reporting that an assistant basketball coach at Temple University had a substance abuse problem that led to “a theft problem” in the Owls’ locker room.   The impetus for the litigation was a report that aired on March 9, 2003, a day after plaintiff Nathaniel Blackwell, an assistant coach and former Temple basketball star, was suspended indefinitely fo