Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, was quoted in three stories about Covington High School student Nicholas Sandmann’s $250 million defamation suit against The Washington Post.

In “No Slam Dunk for Covington Catholic Student in Suite Against Washington Post,” published in the Washington Examiner on Feb. 21, Calvert says that pleading that Sandmann is a private figure when his credibility was questioned was “strategic” on the part of his attorneys.

“Essentially, the argument that’s being set up here is that The Washington Post relied on a non-credible source, namely Nathan Phillips, as well as this other Twitter account, which the plaintiffs say was a phony Twitter account,” Calvert said. “That they simply accepted Nathan Phillips’ words and simply accepted the video on Twitter without doing the requisite investigation any reasonable journalist would do.”

In addition, Calvert said The Post could point to Sandmann’s interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie to argue that he should be considered a limited-purpose public figure.

“The argument that The Washington Post might make is when he did this interview, he thrust himself into the public spotlight on his own,” he said. “He didn’t have to talk to Savannah Guthrie, but he did it voluntarily, and he sought the media limelight.”

He added that if he is considered a limited-purpose public figure, Sandmann would instead have to prove the alleged defamatory statements were made with actual malice, or a reckless disregard for the truth. The Post could argue the defamation allegations stemmed from statements of opinion, not statements of fact, such as that Sandmann engaged in conduct considered racist.

“What does it really mean today to be labeled a racist?” Calvert said. “That term is loosely used by many people in a hyperbolic sense. Is there really any objective measure to say that he’s racist?”

Calvert was also quoted in “Covington Teen Cheered by Conservatives for Washington Post Lawsuit Despite Legal Hurdles” published in The Washington Times on Feb. 20. Calvert said the complaint boils down to allegations that The Post “falsely accused, across multiple articles and either directly or by implication, Sandmann of instigating a confrontation with Nathan Phillips.”

In addition, Calvert was featured in “Attorneys Say More Lawsuits Coming as Covington Student Accuses Post of Defamation” published on wjla.com, the Washington, D.C. ABC television affiliate on Feb. 20.

“The underlying theme of the whole lawsuit is that this is the liberal news media making a story fit its preconceived narrative of white male students who support Donald Trump being racist,” Calvert said.

Posted: February 21, 2019
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, public figure