Former Masters champion Patrick Reed seeks $750 million in defamation lawsuit over online criticism
As if golf didn’t have enough twists and turns this year, another case emerged on Tuesday when LIV Golf golfer and former Masters champion Patrick Reed filed a $750 million lawsuit against analyst Brandel. Chamblee and Golf Channel. Reed, 32, says he has been the target of criticism since he was 23.
In the 30-page lawsuit, Reed’s attorney drew on an extensive network around various individuals and organizations, including the PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour and CEO Keith Pelley and some PGA Tour players. However, Chamblee’s criticism of Reed over the years has been at the heart of a lawsuit with Reed’s attorney alleging those actions have led to outcry from fans on the pitch.
The main complaint concerns Reed’s defection to LIV Golf, which Chamblee has loudly and heavily criticized. Chamblee, among many other analysts, was also vocal critic of Reed’s questionable action as it involved rule violations at both the 2019 World of Heroes Challenge and the 2021 Farmers Insurance Extension. .
From the lawsuit:
As for complex matters, both before and after the threats and actions taken by the PGA Tour and its Commissioner Jay Monahan, to constructively end Mr. Reed, Defendants Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel conspired as joint torturers with the PGA Tour, its executives, and its Commissioner Jay Monahan, engaging in a pattern and conduct that smeared Mr. Reed, reports Mr. misinformation with falsehood and/or recklessness with the truth, that is, with factual and constitutional malice, deliberately omitting pertinent facts to mislead the public, and actively targeting Mr. Reed since he was 23 years old, to ruin his reputation, create hatred and a hostile work environment towards him, and with the intention of discrediting his name and achievements as a is a young, elite, world-class golfer, and a good and caring man, husband and father of two, he.
It was well known on tour that Mr Reed had been abused and suffered more than any other golfer from fans or spectators, who were allowed to shout profanities just to be honored. by NBC’s Golf Channel for doing so, because it caused Defendant Chamblee and the Golf Channel’s “clicks,” viewership, ratings, and revenue to increase. It doesn’t matter to Defendants that they ruin someone’s name and life, as long as they make more dollars and profits.
It doesn’t stop there. The lawsuit not only claims Reed has endured a hostile work environment but also that he has lost direct sponsorship deals because of Chamblee’s rhetoric.
These calculated, malicious, erroneous and/or reckless attacks directly affected the livelihood of Mr. Reed and his family and he suffered great losses due to the loss of not one but many. multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal as a result of the continued harm Brandel Chamblee and NBC’s Golf channel have caused and continue to inflict on Mr. Reed with false defamatory publications and/or carried out recklessly with respect to the truth. These baseless accusations and misreported information intentionally mislead the public to benefit the company without accountability to the public or Mr. Reed and his family.
This is not the first time Reed has taken action against Chamblee. Golfweek reported that Reed requested Chamblee to be decommissioned and decommissioned again in 2020.
Not only did Patrick Reed require pedestrians to wade upstream to protect his badly battered reputation – he also sent his attorney. Golfweek exclusively received a cease and desist letter from Reed by his attorney to Brandel Chamblee asking the Golf Channel analyst not to repeat allegations that the former Masters champion cheated at Hero World Challenge last month.
It looks like Chamblee’s comments about Reed’s relationship with LIV Golf pushed the former PGA Tour pro over the edge. Here’s an example of what Reed’s attorney claims Chamblee has said in the past about Reed and LIV Golf appearing in the lawsuit: “When I heard these players say they were ‘developing the game’ …that makes me want to throw up. They’re destroying the game. And they’re ruining our reputation.”
The PGA Tour was mentioned multiple times in the lawsuit with Reed claiming he was “constructively terminated as a member of the PGA Tour.” Reed actually resigned from the PGA Tour.
Everything you need to know about professional golf right now can be found in the context of this lawsuit. A former Masters champion is suing a broadcaster and network that made him famous for $750 million – all with criticism for the decisions he makes both on and off the field as it relates to his playing career.
Given the magnitude of the lawsuit filed by Phil Mickelson and nine other LIV golfers against the PGA Tour two weeks ago, Reed’s application doesn’t even come close to the most consequential golf lawsuit of the month.
