Thursday, July 2, 2009

How SEC Football has Shaped the Law of Defamation

We're all aware that the SEC is the best conference in college football.. What you might not realize, is that SEC football has played a critical role in shaping the law of defamation. The SEC is no stranger to controversy, of course-- just ask Nick Saban or SEC controversy king Houston Nutt. With a fan base known for exhaling clouds of whiskey breath and smashing each other in the face with liquor bottles, it should come as no surprise that such controversies can be extremely heated. One such controversy, oddly enough, has been decided at the United States Supreme Court.

It all goes back to the unfortunately named Mr. Butts. Wally Butts was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1939 to 1960. In that time, he compiled a record of 140-86-9. With Butts at the helm, the Dawgs were the consensus National Champion in 1942 and had an arguable claim to another National Championship in 1946.

After his many years of coaching, Butts was hired to become Georgia's Athletics Director. While he was in this position, the Saturday Evening Post published an article accusing Butts of conspiring with legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant to fix the outcome of a game between the Dawgs and Tide. Allegedly, Butts had essentially revealed the playbook to Bryant, resulting in a 35-0 blowout loss for the Dawgs. The article began:

"Not since the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series has there been a sports story as shocking as this one. This is the story of one fixed game of college football. Before the University of Georgia played the University of Alabama last September 22, Wally Butts, athletic director of Georgia, gave Paul (Bear) Bryant, head coach of Alabama, Georgia's plays, defensive patterns, all the significant secrets Georgia's football team possessed. 'The corrupt here were not professional ballplayers gone wrong, as in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. The corrupt were not disreputable gamblers, as in the scandals continually afflicting college basketball. The corrupt were two men- Butts and Bryant- employed to educate and to guide young men. 'How prevalent is the fixing of college football games? How often do teachers sell out their pupils? We don't know- yet. For now we can only be appalled.- THE EDITORS.'

This was all called to the newspaper's attention by someone who claimed to have overheard, due to "electronic error,"
the long-distance phone conversation between Butts and Bryant. People who claim to have overheard highly secret and damaging conversations due to "electronic error," of course, among the most reliable sources that one could possibly have.

Butts sued the publisher of the paper for libel. It's safe to assume the trial was very entertaining: both Butts and Bryant testified, emphatically denying fixing the outcome of the game. Interestingly, a number of current and former football players testified as experts, offering their opinion that a football game cannot be fixed without the knowledge or participation of the players. At trial, Butts won a massive judgment: $60,000 in general damages and $3 million in punitive damages.

Ultimately, the appeal reached the United States Supreme Court. In Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, the Court discussed what standard of First Amendment protection applied to defamation suits by public figures. In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Court held that in a defamation suit, a public official had to prove actual malice. Actual malice meant knowledge that the defamatory statement was false, or that the defendant acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Curtis Publishing applied the New York Times standard also applied to suits by public figures such as Butts. Butts succeeded in proving actual malice. The Saturday Evening Post collapsed two years later.