Patrick Reed’s attorneys refiled a $750 million defamation lawsuit on Thursday, adding Golf Channel’s Damon Hack, Shane Bacon and Eamon Lynch, as well as Golfweek and its parent company, Gannett. Lynch is also a Golfweek columnist.
The lawsuit, originally filed Aug. 16 in a federal court in Texas and now in Florida, alleges conspiracy, defamation, injurious falsehood and tortious interference and that the defenders have acted “in concert as joint tortfeasors.”
“The PGA Tour’s and its ‘partner’ the NBC’s Golf Channel’s mission is to destroy a top LIV Golf Tour player, his family, as well as all of the LIV Golf players, to further their agenda and alleged collaborative efforts to destroy the new LIV Golf Tour,” said Reed’s attorney, Larry Klayman, via a news release. “As alleged in the Complaint, these calculated malicious attacks have created hate, aided and abetted a hostile workplace environment, and have caused substantial financial and emotional damage and harm to Mr. Reed and his family.”
The refiled lawsuit looks similar to the original lawsuit and also cites new Golf Channel broadcasts where Hack and Bacon were claimed to be critical of Reed and his actions, as well as a column from Lynch.
In four starts on the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf Invitational Series, Reed, 32, has earned two top-five finishes and $5,958,500. A nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, Reed earned $37,070,706 over his 12 years on Tour.
