University of the CumberlandsBADM 537

During an episode of Sports Center, one of the anchors misread the teleprompter and said LeBron James was closing his school for at risk youth. In reality, LeBron James was expanding his school. This statement by the anchor was a slip of the tongue and corrected in the next episode. Would LeBron's defamation suit against Sports Center and the anchor be successful? Why or why not?

Answer:

LeBron James can be successful even after the correction

Step-by-step explanation

Defamation refers to a false and unprivileged statement of fact that is harmful to someone's reputation, and published with fault that is as a result of negligence or malice. State laws often define defamation in specific ways. Libel is a written defamation while slander is a spoken defamation.

The claimant must prove that the statement was defamatory that it referred to him and that it was published. At common law, it is irrelevant that a defendant did not intent to refer to the claimant. The Defamation Act 1952 section 4 provides a special statutory defense in cases of unintentional defamation by allowing the defamer to make an offer of amends by making suitable correction and apology and may include an agreement to pay compensation and costs. Under further amendment contained in Defamation Act 1996,the person accepting the offer may or may not bring or continue defamation proceedings.

Thus LeBron James can still continue with defamation proceedings against the Sports Center and the anchor and they can only use the correction as a defense on the suit.

References

Scott-Bayfield, J. A. (1996). Defamation: law and practice. FT Law & Tax.