NBC’s Golf Channel and Analyst Slapped With $750 Million Defamation Suit by LIV Golfer Patrick Reed
LIV Golf player Patrick Reed is suing NBC’s Golf Channel and analyst Brandel Chamblee for $750 million in a defamation suit. The pro says the Golf Channel and Chamblee “have maliciously caused a hostile workplace environment for Mr. Reed, spilling over to his family.”
The suit, filed on Monday, claims that Reed has been “actively” targeted since he was 23 years old, but that things have come to a head this year, after he was removed as a member of the PGA Tour and signed with LIV Golf. Reed faced several accusations of cheating during his time on the tour, including in 2019, when he was given a two-stroke penalty for moving sand away from the ball while taking practice swings.
“Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel have conspired as joint tortfeasors for and with the PGA Tour, it’s executives and it’s Commissioner Jay Monahan, to engage in a pattern and practice of defaming Mr. Reed, misreporting information with falsity and/or reckless disregard of the truth, that is with actual and constitutional malice, purposely omitting pertinent key material facts to mislead the public,” the lawsuit states.
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In 2021, Reed. was cleared of any wrongdoing for a separate incident, after he took a free drop for an embedded ball before consulting a rules official.
In addition to the allegations of cheating, the suit cites continual harassment from fans while actually on the course, saying that Chamblee and the Golf Channel encouraged such actions.
“It is well-known on tour that Mr. Reed has been abused and endured more than any other golfer from fans or spectators who have been allowed to scream obscenities only to be glorified by NBC’s Golf Channel for doing so, because it gets Defendants Chamblee and Golf Channel ‘clicks’, viewership, ratings and increased revenue,” the suit adds. “For Defendants it does not matter how badly they destroy someone’s name and life, so long as they rake in more dollars and profit.”
