Russell Westbrook Scores Court Ruling Over Whopping $100M Defamation Case [REPORT]
Russell Westbrook smoothly won the judge's nod over the $100 million lawsuit filed against him.
On Thursday, the court released the official documents in favor of Westbrook. The judge reportedly found out that the NBA player did not defame anyone during the 2019 game in Utah. Instead, Westbrook defended himself from the two fans who claimed that they suffered from emotional distress.
In a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he detailed that the two fans named Shane Keisal and Jennifer Huff claimed that Westbrook caused them emotional stress.
The fans, who have since been banned from any Jazz games, added that they were defamed by the athlete.
The nine-time NBA All-Star player hit back and said that the fans were the ones who defamed her. He revealed that both Keisal and Huff made racially insensitive comments to him by saying "get on your knees like you're used to."
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Keisler then hit back and claimed that he said "ice those knees up." He added that the audience members in the section shared the same comments.
However, a video seemingly turned the tables as the point guard can be heard saying, "I'll f*ck you up. You and your wife. I'll f*ck you up."
In his libel suit document, the U.S. Army veteran said that he was fired from his job and got kicked out of a pilot training program. He also received death threats which eventually caused him to file the $100 million defamation lawsuit.
Why the Judge Ruled in Favor Of Westbrook
In the same court documents, the judge explained the real reason why he rejected Keisler and Huff's arguments. The judge added that what the athlete said were pure opinions and could not be considered defamation.
"It is only in the free expression of these ideas that the nation can hope to heal the historic wounds of slavery and racial injustice that fester still today. That healing cannot occur if public dialogue about racism is silenced under threat of defamation liability," the judge said.
The judge went on to say that Westbrook's 2019 threats were not extreme enough to recover damages. The fact that the two also remained inside the arena proved that the NBA star did not threaten them.
