….Sean Salisbury. Improbable? I thought so , too. I still do, actually. But the burden isn’t on the former ESPN analyst / Dallas radio host to prove he’s never been in the habit of harassing female colleagues with phone-cam snapshots of his schlong, ; it’ll be down to Gawker Media to prove that Salisbury’s self-portraits weren’t as crudely menacing as his treatment of John Clayton. From the McKinney Courier-Gazzette’s Danny Gallagher :
Sean Salisbury, a Frisco, TX resident and former National Football League quarterback, filed a petition for a civil defamation lawsuit in a Denton County court against Gawker Media for publishing several false stories on their sports blog Deadspin.com that cost him several jobs, ruined his reputation and made it difficult to find gainful employment.
Salisbury’s attorney, Jeffrey Tillotson of the Dallas law firm Lynn, Tillotson, Pinker & Cox, said in the petition that Deadspin has waged a “long-running smear campaign” against his client since January of 2007.
Harlow, a member of Salisbury’s counsel, said the suit singled out Gawker as a defendant because of their “concerted” efforts to single out their client, despite the reporting of others.
“What we hope to prove is that blog sites like Deadspin are accountable,” he said. “They can’t simply attack someone and make a concerted effort to destroy the lives and careers of people without any ramifications. The difference between other news outlets and Deadspin is at least the other news outlets try to get it right. We hope to make a statement that if sites are going to behave like this, there are consequences and they are long overdue for that.”
Actually, you missed the boat with your analysis. In a civil libel or defamation suit, the burden of proof falls on the one sueing — in this case, Salisbury. Almost no one wins libel suits.
thank you, you are indeed correct. As such, Salisbury’s defense should be as follows : Sean’s a vampire. Vampire cocks can’t be photographed. Vampires are popular these days. Please hire Sean Salisbury.
I don’t actually know anything about this, but I recall from the discussion surrounding the Clemens / Macnamee thing that the party launching a defamation suit is often forced by the defense to prove that their good name is indeed tarnished by being dragged through the proverbial mud.
If that’s the case, I think that Salisbury’s amateur photography hobby could work against him. Naturally, I can’t see any reason for counsel to bring that up until after the first few checks clear.
Can someone shoot this asshole already