It might need appeared like a bluff when Jerry West just lately vowed to take his much-publicized battle with HBO “all the best way to the Supreme Courtroom.”
The basketball legend is livid about “Profitable Time,” a cable collection in regards to the Lakers’ Showtime period that portrays him — within the phrases of his lawyer — “as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic.”
Given the uphill battle that public figures should battle when suing for defamation, West’s menace of authorized motion towards HBO may appear implausible, however authorized consultants aren’t so positive.
The letter that West’s lawyer delivered to the community, they are saying, lays the groundwork for a troublesome however nonetheless viable lawsuit. And making the letter obtainable to media could have scored a victory already.
“You’re enjoying two video games right here,” stated Howard Bragman, a longtime Hollywood disaster supervisor. “You’re enjoying the courtroom of legislation and the courtroom of public opinion.”
“Profitable Time” focuses on the Nineteen Eighties, when the Lakers gained a string of NBA championships with West within the entrance workplace and the likes of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the roster. The group was bigger than life, an embodiment of proprietor Jerry Buss’ quest to marry sport with glitzy leisure.
Critics have praised each the present and Australian actor Jason Clarke’s intense portrayal of West as a risky man given to bursts of invective, spectacular of their period and profane inventiveness.
“The collection made us all seem like cartoon characters,” West instructed former Occasions sports activities editor Invoice Dwyre. “They belittled one thing good. If I've to, I'll take this all the best way to the Supreme Courtroom.”
The letter from lawyer Skip Miller — addressed to HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery and government producer Adam McKay — calls for a retraction and an apology. It additionally mentions unspecified damages “for the hurt you brought about to [West’s] well-earned and stellar status.”
“You're liable to your false and mean-spirited misrepresentation,” Miller claimed. “You have got dedicated the tort of false mild invasion of privateness by making a misunderstanding about Mr. West that's extremely offensive and injurious to his status.”
HBO replied per week later that it “has an extended historical past of manufacturing compelling content material drawn from precise details and occasions which are fictionalized partly for dramatic functions. ‘Profitable Time’ will not be a documentary and has not been offered as such. Nevertheless, the collection and its depictions are based mostly on in depth factual analysis and dependable sourcing, and HBO stands resolutely behind our gifted creators and solid who've introduced a dramatization of this epic chapter in basketball historical past to the display screen.”
“If any person is recognized as an actual particular person and portrayed as having sure character traits, the [audience] would possibly assume that's so.”
— Eugene Volokh, who teaches 1st Modification legislation at UCLA
To prevail in courtroom, a public determine should do greater than show defamatory statements or portrayals are false. The plaintiff should present “precise malice,” which means that defendants knew the statements have been false or had reckless disregard for the reality.
“Since a public determine has entry to the media to get his facet of the story out, the legislation says our choice is that you just handle this by way of different means,” stated Aaron Caplan, a Loyola Legislation Faculty professor.
If West have been to file a swimsuit, consultants say, he would want to influence a jury on a collection of key questions.
Did the present current his character as factual? Was that assertion of reality false? Ought to HBO and the producers have identified higher? Did the present trigger damage to West?
“Profitable Time” begins with a disclaimer: “This collection is a dramatization of sure details and occasions. Among the names have been modified and a few of the occasions and characters have been fictionalized, modified or composited for dramatic functions.” However that doesn't insulate the present from legal responsibility.
Viewers could be anticipated to know that particular dialogue was invented, stated Eugene Volokh, who teaches 1st Modification legislation at UCLA, however the broader elements of West’s character are a unique situation.
“If any person is recognized as an actual particular person and portrayed as having sure character traits, the [audience] would possibly assume that's so,” Volokh stated. “Does he throw tantrums? Does he swear rather a lot?”
The letter to HBO cites quite a few scenes that lawyer Miller claims have been “made up out of entire material.”
In a single occasion, West’s character hurls an MVP trophy by way of an workplace window, one thing that Miller insists by no means occurred. In one other, Buss’ character appears to be like into the digicam and says: “Jerry West, head coach of the Lakers, basketball legend, thought of a real gentleman of the game to everybody who doesn't know him.”
The viewers would possibly imagine “Profitable Time” is sending a message when it “breaks the fourth wall,” talking on to them.
“It’s a sound argument his lawyer is making,” Caplan stated. “When you could have a personality try this, it's like telling the viewer there’s actually some reality right here.”
As to “mind-set” — ought to producers have identified that statements have been false or did they've reckless disregard — a possible swimsuit would hinge on the “factual analysis” cited in HBO’s response.
“They could say, listed below are the interviews we did … we trusted our sources,” Volokh stated. “That could be sufficient to get them off the hook.”
Miller argues the collection relies on a e book, “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the Nineteen Eighties,” that depicts West as “somebody who handled folks with dignity and respect.” Former gamers Michael Cooper and Jamaal Wilkes have weighed in, denouncing the collection, and Abdul-Jabbar wrote a scathing rebuke, calling the present “intentionally dishonest.”
The letter to HBO addresses alleged damage to West by stating that, after the primary episode on March 6, West rapidly trended on Twitter. A listing of posts consists of descriptions corresponding to “madman,” “a imply drunk” and “full-fledged psycho.”
None of this can seemingly be sufficient for a public determine searching for authorized retribution. Olivia de Havilland sued FX Networks over her depiction within the 2017 restricted collection “Feud,” solely to have the Supreme Courtroom decline to listen to the case.
It stays to be seen if Georgian chess grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili can prevail towards Netflix, which she claims broken her status in “The Queen’s Gambit” collection by falsely stating she had by no means performed towards males.
There may be yet one more factor for West to think about: Although his case seems robust sufficient that “HBO wouldn't have the ability to get [it] dismissed at an early stage,” Caplan stated, it may get uncomfortable. The Corridor of Famer would possibly face the identical public scrutiny now targeted on Johnny Depp in his $50-million defamation swimsuit towards ex-wife Amber Heard.
“Since this can be a case the place it’s not nearly what occurred in the future however who [West is] as an individual, they'll ask all types of inquiries to attempt to decide if he’s a pleasant man,” Caplan stated. “For some folks, it’s not value sitting there and answering these questions.”
Having represented such controversial figures as Monica Lewinsky and Anthony Scaramucci, Bragman says dozens of his shoppers have “threatened lawsuits however by no means went to courtroom.”
The publicist believes that a superstar combating for his or her status should handle not solely the “unique second” but in addition the “social media tail” — the general public narrative that lingers afterward.
No matter its authorized deserves, the letter to HBO gave the 83-year-old West an opportunity to air his facet of the story.
“I believe it’s very prudent, significantly at this level in his life when he’s enjoying for historical past,” Bragman stated. “It’s the suitable transfer to place that line within the sand.”
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