The defamation lawsuit brought forward by a Yankees fan who was shown on ESPN snoozing in the stands last season was tossed by a New York City judge Thursday, the Smoking Gun reported.
The fan, Andrew Rector, levied the $10 million lawsuit against ESPN and broadcasters Dan Shulman and John Kruk in July 2014 for their "avalanche of disparaging words" when Rector was shown sleeping on air during a Yankees-Red Sox game.
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According to the lawsuit, Rector said he was referred to as a “fatty cow that needs two seats” and a “confused, disgusted and socially bankrupt individual" during his 31 seconds of on-air fame. However, the comments came from online articles about Rector's nap during the game, not from the broadcasters themselves.
In a decision issued in September, Judge Julia Rodriguez ruled that because the comments from Shulman and Kruk were not defamatory or false, the lawsuit didn't have any merit.
“At worst, the announcers’ comments might be considered to be loose, figurative or hyperbolic statements which are not actionable,” Rodriguez said.