The New York Yankees fan who is suing ESPN and game announcers for $10 million after broadcasting him sleeping during a game said he’s “not sure” what he actually wants to come out of the lawsuit, and a simple apology could “possibly” be enough.
Andrew Rector appeared on NBC’s “Today” show on Friday to discuss the defamation suit, and struggled to explain (above) what exactly ESPN commentators John Kruk and Dan Shulman said about him that was so offensive.
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“Put yourself in my shoes,” Rector said. “How would you feel if you were broadcasted on TV, all over the media? They put me on YouTube. People get to like it. It basically creates a public forum where people could comment. I mean, there’s so many derogatory comments about me that was caused by what they did.”
Lauer argued that “most of the bad comments” started popping up after Rector filed the lawsuit, and if he didn’t, the world wouldn’t know his name.
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“It was still on ESPN for a whole week,” Rector said. “They were playing it over and over again for at least a week.”
The lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges Rector was subject to “an unending verbal cascade” from announcers who used words like “stupor, fatty, unintelligent, stupid.” ESPN responded by pointing out “comments attributed to ESPN and our announcers were clearly not said in our telecast.”
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“How I responded to it might’ve been a spur-of-the-moment thing but at the end of the day, it’s still upsetting what they did,” Rector said. “I mean, there’s a line where you can cross what’s right and what’s wrong… I have a reputation as well. I mean, for them to sit there and make fun of somebody, I don’t see how that’s acceptable.”
Here’s the video evidence that may make or break Rector’s case: