Court To Racist Douchebags: It's Not Defamatory For A Newspaper To Call You 'Racist Douchebags'

from the how's-all-that-racism-and-douchebaggery-working-out-for-you dept

When is it defamatory to call people "racist douchebags?" Well, let's start with the "douchebag" part. This is always a statement of opinion and never actionable. Calling someone (in this case, several someones) a "douchebag" is like calling them an "asshole." It's not something that is possible of defaming anyone since it's always, without exception, a statement of opinion.

Calling someone a racist is almost always a statement of opinion. Unlike calling someone a felon or a child molester, claims of racism are based on perception. This makes them closer to a statement of opinion than an actionable fact.

So, calling people "racist douchebags" isn't defamatory. And it certainly isn't defamatory in a situation like this, where the group of people being called "racist douchebags" acted like racist douchebags. In this case, six members of a South Carolina high school football team sued the Charleston City Paper for calling them "racist douchebags." The events leading to the Charleston paper's column were filled with douchebaggery of the racist variety. (h/t Adam Steinbaugh)

Here's the super-dry take on the events from the South Carolina Appeal Court's decision [PDF] -- a take made even drier by the school's press conference statements.

Superintendent McGinley asked the School District's diversity consultant, Kevin Clayton and Associate Superintendent Louis Martin to conduct the investigation. Mr. Clayton and Mr. Martin interviewed the students on the football team and the coaches. The investigation revealed that "players would gather in a circle and smash the watermelon while others were either standing in a group or locking arms and making chanting sounds that were described as 'Ooo ooo ooo,' and several players demonstrated the motion." Superintendent McGinley stated the AMHS team named the watermelons "Bonds Wilson" and drew a face on each watermelon "that could be considered a caricature."

Some football players had created their own post-game ritual of demolishing a watermelon bearing the name of the defeated school while making monkey noises. Most of the schools this predominantly-white school faced during the football season were predominantly black. The "Bonds Wilson" referenced on this particular watermelon was the name of a segregated school that used to be located on the campus where Academic Magnet High School is located. It was named after two African-American educators. The students demolishing the "Bonds Wilson" watermelon were AMHS students.

The paper's op-ed opened with this paragraph, which triggered the football players. (And the lawsuit.)

Today, Charleston was consumed by one story and one story only: the removal of Academic Magnet football coach Bud Walpole amid allegations that his players more or less behaved like racist douchebags. And if there's one lesson to be learned from all of this[,] it's this: big toothy grins, watermelons, and monkey noises don't mix. Any sensible person can see that.

It went on to point out any of the adults overseeing AMHS's students and football team could have stopped this. But no one did until the ritual became public knowledge.

The point is that an entire team of players thought it was OK to draw a grinning face on a watermelon, smash it on the ground each time they beat a largely black team, and make monkey noises—and no one apparently told them to stop.

No one said, "Hey guys, I know not a single one of you has a racist bone in your body, you know, because that's a bad thing, and well, you're an Academic Magnet kid, and you come from a good middle-class white family and you're going to college, and there's no way in hell you'd, you know, draw a racist caricature on a watermelon and make monkey noises and do it fully aware of, like, what all that stuff means, because if you did, knowing all that stuff, then yikes, people might start thinking you're racists. Hell, I'd think you're a racist, and, well, I just don't know if I can deal with the fact that Charleston's best and brightest students are racist douchebags. I mean, it's just a joke right? Right?"

The paper's publisher argued these statements were protected speech. It noted the columnist had formed his opinions based on the students' actions as depicted in statements made by the school during its press conference. Those facts led the columnist to the conclusion the students acted like "racist douchebags" and the football coach at least implicitly condoned racist douchebaggery.

The students hilariously argued this was actual malice, engaged in by the paper "without any investigation, without any evidence, without anything to come to that conclusion." Perhaps the plaintiffs failed to attend the press conference in which the school said football players were demolishing watermelons painted with the names of predominantly-black schools while making monkey noises.

This was not the students' stupidest argument. This one is:

Appellants asserted the players' motives were not racially based but more akin to the movie Castaway where Tom Hanks drew a face on a volleyball and named it "Wilson;" here, the football players drew a face on the watermelon and named it "BondsWilson."

Oh, OK. [Recalls classic scene in "Castway" where Hanks' character beats the hell out of "Wilson" while conjuring Jim Crow imagery.]

The court could not disagree more. It upholds the lower court's decision by pointing out obvious things about defamation law that the plaintiffs' lawyer should have used to dissuade them from suing.

First, the circuit court found that all of the factual statements in the articles were "accurate reproductions of comments made publicly by School District officials, and thus [were] protected by the fair report privilege." Next, the circuit court found the remaining statements in the articles were "merely expressions of the writer's opinions and ideas on a matter of public concern. Under established First Amendment jurisprudence, Jones Street [Publishers] cannot be held liable for such statements."

[...]

The court indicated that it was "settled law that expressions of opinion on matters of public concern are immune from liability for defamation." The court noted that once the factual statements in the articles that summarized the statements made by the School District are removed, none of the remaining statements "assert[] any verifiable, objectively provable fact. They are expressions of the editorial writer's ideas and opinions, using rhetorical hyperbole to emphasize his views."

More simply put:

We do not find that the term "racist douchebag" can "reasonably [be] interpreted as stating actual facts" about Appellants.

Especially when, as the court notes, even the plaintiffs agreed that declaring something or someone to be "racist" is a matter of opinion. A footnote contains statements made by the players and coach in court that attest to the Appeals Court's stated fact:

Appellant Adam Ackerman was asked, "Do you believe that whether or not something is racist is a matter of opinion?" Appellant replied, "It is a matter of opinion."

Appellant R.M. was asked, "[D]o you think that people can have different opinions as to what is racist?" Appellant responded, "Absolutely."

Appellant C.F. was asked, "Do you think whether or not the watermelon ritual, the perception of the watermelon ritual, whether or not that's racist is a matter of opinion?" Appellant responded, "[I]t is a matter of opinion, but it's also—it's an opinion generated on what you've heard."

Appellant Coach Walpole was asked, "Who determines whether or not something is racist?" Appellant responded, "It's up to the—it depends on what it is, up to the individual interpretation, I don't know."

More inadvertent hilarity. In their effort to prove they weren't "racist douchebags" by claiming they didn't believe beating watermelons bearing black school names while hooting like monkeys was racist, the appellants made it clear the labeling of something or someone as "racist" is a matter of opinion, not a statement of fact. Trying to rid themselves of the "racist douchebag" label only made it easier to apply and even less likely to result in a victory.

There's nothing here for the "racist douchebags." They will continue to be "racist douchebags" upon their return to the lower court where their lawsuit will be dismissed. Maybe they'll continue to be "racist douchebags" long after the last check to their representation has cleared. Who knows. But for at least one awful night in South Carolina, they were racist douchebags.

This douchebaggery might have faded into the background months ago, but the plaintiffs desire to be proven right apparently outweighed their desire to put this racist activity behind them. Welcome back to the news cycle, douchebags.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, charleston, defamation, free speech, opinion, racist douchebag, south carolina
Companies: charleston city paper