Sports stars have chosen a profession in which opinionated statements regarding their abilities are as much a part of sports as the games themselves. The arena of sports is a traditional haven for hyperboles. Commentary about the exploits of professional athletes, both on and off the field, is not an unjustified invasion of the athlete's privacy, but simply a necessary cost for the privilege of being a professional athlete.
What is Actual Malice and Defamation?.
A public official or public figure must prove actual malice to win a defamation claim and in some states a private figure must prove actual malice when a published statement concerns a matter of public interest. A defendant acts with actual malice if he makes a statement with knowledge that the statement was false when made or makes a statement with reckless disregard as to whether it was false or not. Actual malice and defamation may appear similar but have a few major differences (Reuters). Defamation is a statement that gives a negative impression of a person, company, group, product, government, or country. It is a statement that is said as if true but in actuality it is false. Defamation can be slander, which is made with spoken words, sounds, sign language, or gestures. Defamation in any other form, like in printed words or pictures, is libel. To be considered defamation, the claim has to be false, it has to be made as if it were true, and it has to have been communicated to people other than the group or person being defamed (Reuters).
Review of Literature.
In this paper I did research on 5 different cases that all had similar comparisons. These cases include Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles football club Brewer v. Memphis Publishing Co., Inc., Barry v. Time, Inc., Bell v. Associated Press, Inc. and Time, Inc. v. Johnston. Defamation and or actual malice is discussed and fought in all 5 cases. After reading each case thoroughly each case comes to a conclusion that actual malice could not be proven because each plaintiff was a public figure and therefor the courts ruled in favor of the defendants.
