Patrick Reed, a talented young golfer who won the 2018 Masters tournament, has sued commentator Brandel Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel for defamation (Reed vs. Chamblee, et. al, Civil Action No. 4:22-cv-2778 (S.D. Tx.)).
Reed recently joined the LIV Golf Tour.
Chamblee, Golf Channel, and the PGA and DP World Tour and their Commissioners Jay Monahan and Keith Pelley, are alleged to be co-conspirators for their “anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive practices” in order to “destroy” the upstart LIV Golf Tour, Reed, and fellow LIV Golf Players.
Attorneys for the plaintiff allege that the defendants have embraced “extreme and scandalous measures” to defame Reed, fellow LIV Tour players, and LIV Golf.
In Reed’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, he alleges that Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel defamed him by “falsely and maliciously branding him a cheater, liar, and a thief and someone who accepts blood money from terrorists.” According to Reed’s attorneys, Chamblee also labeled him the “devil” after Reed’s “first and only alleged rules infraction he ever had on the PGA Tour. Consistent with this, Chamblee also published that Reed and his fellow LIV golfers associate themselves with the likes of Putin, Mao, Hitler and Stalin, among many other published smears. Of course, what Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel are using as a false and malicious pretext to defame is the financing of the LIV Golf Tour by the Saudi Public Investment Fund also known as PIF which has purchased stakes in a variety of investments, including but not limited to Uber, Boeing, Facebook, CitiBank, Disney, Berkshire Hathaway, Electronic Arts. One of its most famed investments and ownership stakes- is in the world renown Newcastle United Football Club.”
His attorneys continued: “Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel have a direct interest in continuing to defame Reed, one of LIV Golf’s top golfers, since the PGA Tour has lucrative contracts with major broadcasting partner NBC’s Golf Channel to broadcast events on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Existing tournament sponsors and other broadcasting partners would not want to have and continue paying lucrative contracts to the PGA Tour if they have depleted fields, lost marquee players, and are actively involved in anticompetitive practices that violated the antitrust laws. Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel are allegedly fearful that another major network will acquire the rights to broadcast LIV Golf Tour events, competing with them and drawing away viewers and revenues.”
The lawsuit also alleges that “the vicious attacks by Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel are nothing new to Reed. NBC’s Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee’s record will show a targeted effort to destroy a young golfer’s name, career, and marketability as a top golfer in the world. This is a continuation of and compounds the past defamatory conduct against Reed. Chamblee and Golf Channel are alleged in the complaint to have targeted this world-class golfer, manufactured phony controversies, and defamed Reed to boost their television and broadcast ratings and revenues.”
Larry Klayman, Esq., the founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, is representing Reed.
“The motivation of the defendants, Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel, is evident,” he said. “Working as the surrogate agents for the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and their lawless leadership, their mission is to destroy a top LIV Golf Tour player, his family, as well as all of the LIV Golf players, to further their agenda and alleged collaborative efforts to destroy the new LIV Golf Tour.
“As alleged in the Complaint, these calculated malicious attacks have created hate, aided and abetted a hostile workplace environment, and have caused substantial financial and emotional damage and harm.”
The complaint can be viewed here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22138086-patrick-reed-lawsuit-v-the-golf-channel-and-brandel-chamblee
Controversy Swirls over Litigation
The lawsuit attracted a fair amount of blowback, thanks in part to Reed’s controversial nature. One attorney who specializes in defamation, Sia Nejad, took to twitter to blast its chances of success.
“I specialized in defamation during the 13 years I practiced and I can tell you, without equivocation, that this lawsuit has zero legal merit and will not succeed,” he said. “The facts as set out in the Complaint (Paragraphs 29 through 72) do not rise to defamation or defamation per se and are clearly statements of opinion and/or fact (never-mind the hurdle of the heightened legal standard for public figures such as Patrick Reed). As for the accusations of ‘cheating,’ which are surprisingly buried among allegations of obvious protected opinion, the Complaint veers toward the Hero World Challenge cheating allegations from 2019. The Complaint [Paragraph 60] states that Reed was only assessed a 2-stroke penalty and not disqualified which absolves him of cheating. It doesn’t take a legal mind to articulate the ridiculousness of such a statement.”
