Patrick Reed is the latest member of the LIV Golf Series move from the course to the courts, as the 2018 Masters champion filed a $750 million defamation lawsuit against Golf Channel and commentator Brandel Chamblee.
The civil suit, a copy which was obtained by the Guardian, was filed in a Texas court on Tuesday. He alleges that Chamblee and the cable network conspired with the PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan to defame Reed “since he was 23.”
Reed’s allegations in the 30-page complaint include “falsely misrepresenting and/or recklessly disregarding the truth, that is, with actual and constitutional malice, deliberately omitting key material facts relevant to infer the public in error and actively targeting [Reed] to destroy his reputation, create hatred and a hostile work environment for him”.
“It is well known on tour that Mr. Reed was abused and endured more than any other golfer by fans or spectators who were allowed to shout obscenities to be glorified by NBC. Golf Channel for doing so,” the lawsuit reads. “[Chamblee] became the Golf Channel’s primary spokesperson and agent to further this defamatory agenda and inflict serious harm on Mr. Reed, LIV and other golfers signed with LIV.
In January 2020, Reed’s attorney sent Chamblee a cease and desist letter asking him not to repeat accusations that Reed cheated in a tournament. Reed was penalized with two strokes at the Hero World Challenge in 2019 for improving his lie in a bunker, but he claimed he had no intention of doing so.
Chamblee has continued to take Reed to task over the years, not only for allegations of cheating, but also for his decision to leave the PGA Tour at LIV Golf earlier this year.
The complaint also takes issue with Chamblee’s remarks that Reed “would have no problem playing golf for Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Vladimir Putin.”
“This statement is false because Mr. Reed never aligned himself with a ‘tyrannical and murderous leader,'” the suit reads. “He plays golf for LIV, which just happens to be funded by the PIF, which has invested in and funded some of the largest and most respected corporations in the country and the world.
“That would be tantamount to declaring that LeBron James has aligned himself with a ‘tyrannical and murderous leader’ because he plays in the National Basketball Association, which has complex ties to the People’s Republic of China, whose government is accused of a current and ongoing genocide against the Muslim Uyghur people.
Reed, 32, says Chamblee’s views have led fans to heckle him and call him a cheater at tournaments.
According to the complaint:
These induced personal attacks include, but are not limited to: “Now off the shovel!”, “You suck!”, “You suck!”, “You suck!”, “You suck!” You’re a coward!”, “Shovel!”, Why don’t you dig a grave and bury yourself in it!”, “Shit!”, “Nobody likes you!”, Everyone hate Reed!, “Good luck digging ‘Where are your coward parents?’, ‘Cheater!’, ‘Cheater!’, ‘Everybody hates you, cheater!” you’re a piece of shit!”, “Beating the cheater’s ass!”, “Sorry Webb for having to mess with the cheater! Who did you piss off? ! “Why don’t you introduce your children to their grandparents, you ungrateful bitch?” This is just a sampling of what defendants maliciously and intentionally caused and aided with genuine malice.
Although a nine-time PGA Tour winner, Reed apparently felt Monahan and the tour were after him.
The lawsuit continues: “Despite his exceptional world-class golfing achievements, in June 2022, Mr. Reed was constructively terminated as a member of the PGA Tour, following threats made and actions taken by his (sic ) commissioner Jay Monahan and his PGA Tour, and signed with LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour has indefinitely suspended its members who played in the first LIV event in June without the tour’s consent. Reed didn’t join LIV until the second event of their eight-tournament schedule in North Plains, Oregon last month. He was suspended as a result.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $750 million in damages, was brought by Larry Klayman, founder of the conservative group Freedom Watch, who has previously failed in his libel suits on behalf of former US Senate candidate Roy Moore. against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio against a phalanx of national media.