By John T. Wendt, Professor Emeritus, Ethics and Business Law, University of St. Thomas
How far can someone go in criticizing a coach before crossing the line? Can a public high school coach successfully sue parents for allegedly making defamatory statements about him? The Minnesota Supreme Court recently made that decision in McGuire v. Bowlin. [1]
Defamation cases deal with balancing First Amendment rights of freedom of expression and an individual’s right to protect their reputation. To establish the elements of a defamation claim in Minnesota, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant made “a false and defamatory statement about the plaintiff; an unprivileged publication to a third party; a tendency to harm the plaintiff’s reputation in the community; and fault, at least negligence.”[2]
But, a key element in a defamation case is the legal status of the plaintiff. The status changes on whether the plaintiff is a “public official,” a “public figure” or a private individual. All a private individual has to prove is that the defendant was negligent or showed unreasonable carelessness. However, a “public official” or “public figure” must show that the defendant acted with “actual malice” a much higher standard, and much more difficult to prove.
The seminal defamation case is New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in which the United States Supreme Court held that to prove libel a “public official” must show more than the statement was false, rather that the statement was made “with ‘actual malice’— that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard” for the truth.[3] Later, in Curtis Pub. Co. v. Butts[4] the Court extended that malice standard to include “public figures,” that is, private citizens who are of public interest or may be part of public controversy. But the definition of who is a “public figure” is far from being settled. The Minnesota Supreme Court recently addressed this question in McGuire v. Bowlin, a case that dealt with whether a public high school basketball coach is a public figure.
Nathan McGuire is a kindergarten teacher and high school basketball coach. While McGuire was coaching at Woodbury High School, a number of parents, including defendant Julie Bowlin, complained to school administrators about their children’s playing time and about the coach’s personal conduct. Bowlin and another parent filed maltreatment-of-minors reports against McGuire with the Minnesota Department of Education. The maltreatment reports were found to be without merit.
However, the school did place McGuire on administrative leave and ultimately decided not to renew his coaching contract. Notably, even after McGuire left Woodbury High School, Bowlin continued to attack McGuire. First, she sent an email to another parent stating, “Last I heard yesterday he was recently put in jail … I will find out the truth and call the [Department of Education] today and find out.”[5] Second, she sent a picture of a news article entitled, “Woodbury man sentenced to jail in stolen funds case.” Along with the picture was a text that said, “I know we don’t talk anymore but this was part of the Woodbury stuff with [McGuire] that was going on. This guy too got busted.”[6] As the Court noted, “It is undisputed that the subject of the article was not McGuire.”[7] It was reported that during this period McGuire’s house was also pelted by eggs traumatizing McGuire’s young children.[8]
McGuire sued Bowlin and others for defamation and civil conspiracy. The District Court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment finding that McGuire was a public official and that there was no evidence that Bowlin or the other defendants knowingly or recklessly made a false report. The Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion affirmed the District Court’s decision.
However, a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the decision and found that McGuire was not a public figure. The Court noted that the public does have an “interest” in paying attention to school sports. McGuire as well does have an interest in protecting his reputation. And citing the plurality opinion in Curtis, “The public-official designation seeks to strike a balance between ‘the interests of the community in free circulation of information and those of individuals in seeking recompense for harm done by the circulation of defamatory falsehood.’”[9] The Court concluded that, “for the ‘government duty’ criterion to support the conclusion that someone is a public official, his or her duties must relate to the core functions of government, such as safety and public order.”[10]
The Court used a three prong test, whether McGuire was performing governmental duties directly related to the public interest; whether McGuire held a position to influence significantly the resolution of public issues; and finally whether McGuire had or appeared to the public to have, substantial responsibility for or control over the conduct of governmental affairs. As Justice Hudson noted, “Although McGuire was employed by the school district, his coaching duties are ancillary to core functions of government; put simply, basketball is not fundamental to democracy.”[11]
The Court reversed the decision and sent the case back to District Court allowing McGuire to proceed with his defamation claim against Bowlin, and he does not have to prove that her statements were made with malice. McGuire’s attorney, Donald Chance Mark Jr., said the decision is important in Minnesota because it “finally provides an opportunity for coaches to defend their reputations when (parents) say things that are either untrue or, in some cases, lies.”[12]
The Minnesota State High School Coaches Association released the following statement:
“The decision handed down by the Minnesota Supreme Court is not designed to protect coaches who do bad things or make bad decisions, but we hope it will protect the integrity of a good coach from slander and defamation from a disgruntled parent, guardian or player.”[13]
John T. Wendt is Professor Emeritus, Ethics and Business Law, University of St. Thomas. He also serves on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Lausanne).
[1] McGuire v. Bowlin, 932 N.W.2d 819 (2019)
[2] Britton v. Koep, 470 N.W.2d 518, 520 (Minn. 1991)
[3] New York Times Co. v Sullivan, 376 US 254 (1964)
[4] Curtis Pub. Co. v Butts, 388 US 130 (1967)
[5] McGuire, 932 N.W.2d at 822.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Sunny Day, Minnesota Hoops: “He Got Screwed:” The Strange Case of Hurricane Julie and Basketball Coach and Kindergarten Teacher Nathan McGuire, Minnesota Hoops (2019), http://minnesotahoops.blogspot.com/2019/09/he-got-screwed-strange-case-of.html (last visited Apr 16, 2020).
[9] McGuire, 932 N.W.2d at 825.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Courts say high school coaches are not public officials, Southernminn.com, https://www.southernminn.com/article_50051755-5cb2-583e-8357-275015ef9815.html (last visited Apr 20, 2020)
[13] Esme Murphy, MN Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Defamed H.S. Coaches (2019), https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2019/09/05/minnesota-supreme-court-public-high-school-coaches-defamation-lawsuit/ (last visited Apr 20, 2020).
