If Jerry West Sued for ‘Buying Time’, Legal Case Could Face an Uphill Battle

hbo time to win It begins with a disclaimer: “This series is a dramatization of certain facts and events. “Some names have been changed and some events and characters have been invented, modified or composed for dramatic purposes.”

A version of this rejection appears in other real-life movies and shows. Its purpose is to tell the viewer that the parts they are seeing are real while the other parts are dramatized or completely acted out. But how can people tell the difference, especially as filmmakers increasingly blur the lines between truth and fiction for the sake of drama?

Jerry West says most viewers now believe he is what his attorney called “an angry, drunk, uncontrollable alcoholic” based on his portrayal. time to win, Adapted from a book by Jeff Perlman that describes the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty in the 1980s. West, who was working as the team’s head coach and general manager at the time and is now the CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers last week, demanded a waiver, an apology and unspecified damages in a letter to Warner Bros. for a “false and defamatory portrait”. Discovery, HBO and series producers Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.

“Jerry West rolled time to win “He doesn’t look like a real man,” wrote his attorney Skip Miller. “The real Jerry West was proud of the fact that he treated people with dignity and respect. time to win It is a baseless and damaging attack on Jerry West’s character. You’ve reduced the legacy of the 83-year-old legend and model to a vulgar, unprofessional abuser: the opposite of a real man.

West protests the series’ characterization as a coward, a borderline alcoholic and an incompetent coach who refused to recruit Magic Johnson. On the show, Lakers owner Jerry Bass tells West in one scene: “I was drinking too much bourbon. I switched to vodka. Smell less than you can. Just tips. West claims the show defamed him, despite two proposals appearing before the show’s first episode.

The West is right that the show can still defame anyone, even if it has a disclaimer. If he decides to sue, part of the court’s analysis of whether the disclaimer adequately served its intended purpose was whether the show would be presented as genuine and whether viewers would recognize his character on the show for what he was.

Recent libel cases related to the use of liability restrictions do not favor manufacturers time to win. In the attire of Georgian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili, who claims to have been slandered in an episode of Netflix. queen’s playThe judge refused to hear the case because he found that Gaprindashvili had demonstrated he could win the libel suit, despite denying his responsibility that the show was a work of art. The judge distinguished the use of liability in the transfer from what appears to be Laundry, a Netflix movie starring Gary Oldman about the Panama Papers. In that case, the court held that no reasonable viewer would believe that the film was an objective fact and not a dramatization of the facts.

In case queen’s play“The series includes similar denials, but the line is more compelling than the factual details involved in the series rather than the main plot devices,” wrote District Judge Virginia Phillips. She concluded that the streaming giant was acting in a “reckless disregard” of the truth and rejected arguments that it could not be prosecuted for slandering real people in works of fiction.

It is particularly worrying in this regard time to win There’s a bus-breaking scene where he breaks the fourth wall in McKay’s typical way of telling the audience, “Jerry West, the Lakers coach, is considered a true gentleman of the sport by anyone.” ” .” Miller argues that the scene implies that the series represents the “real” West.

Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, a defamation attorney representing Gaprindashvili’s lawsuit against Netflix, said the show’s producers should be concerned because it warrants Western reflection.

“It will be a big hurdle for producers to overcome,” Rufus-Isaacs said. “When the writer was fired, it would have been very difficult for him to deny that the public wanted to believe he was showing the real Jerry West. This is a very good development for the West and very bad producers.”

Highlight the creators time to win He did not add any composite features to West’s character, such as altering his name, identifying characteristics, or position in the Lakers, to mislead the viewer that the character was a true reflection of the NBA Hall of Fame.

Media attorney Daniel Novak agrees that the scene is problematic for the creators. time to win If they are sued and the court considers whether a reasonable viewer would believe the show is the truth of the matter.

“You’re literally telling the audience that this is the true west,” Novak said. “When they break down the fourth wall, they usually say, ‘Trust us.’ It’s real. ‘”

In recent years, several libel lawsuits have been filed against drama documentaries producers for allegedly false and misleading depictions of characters and events. In most cases, liability restrictions have failed to protect them from liability.

However, if he decides to go ahead with the suit, the West will likely find it difficult to tame him, as defamation cases are clearly difficult for people in the public sphere to win.

There is broad protection of freedom of expression that allows for criticism of elected officials and other public figures who therefore face a greater burden in defamation cases and must prove that the alleged defamatory statements were made with definite factual malpractice intended to cause damage. Knowing that what was said was really wrong. Mere neglect is not enough.

The norm was to disperse various defamation complaints, including those from Donald Trump, Sarah Pelin and the person she sued in court for appearing. wolf of wall street.

“An app that says ‘He’s not like that’ isn’t enough,” Novak said. “Where is this smoking gun? [the showrunners] did it taste better? Where were they warned? ”

Western letter to creators time to win Contains statements from Lakers personnel protesting their interpretation of the series as fact.

Charlene Kenny, executive assistant to Lakers owner Jerry Bass for over 20 years, wrote: “Watched the HBO show. time to win And the character they played as Jerry West is nothing like the man I knew. I never heard Jerry yell at me or yell at me or anyone. In fact, I didn’t even hear Jerry mute the sound in the office. He was always a gentleman and treated me and the other members of the Lakers organization with respect and professionalism. I also never heard Jerry West swear or swear in the office. And I never saw Jerry get mad or throw anything. I’ve also never heard of Jerry Tirada or anything about agitation. “Finally, I have never seen Jerry drink alcohol in the office, nor have I ever seen Jerry drunk in the office.”

Miller, presumably hoping for protection from actual evil, Miller emphasizes that the supposedly defamatory scenes of Western temper do not appear in Perlman’s book. He points to a longtime Lakers employee who declined to be consulted about the program due to his inaccurate performance.

Gary Whitney, who spent 32 years as Lakers coach, called the show “a complete misrepresentation of Jerry West”.

“You realized the falsehood, but still released it time to win “Knowing it was wrong and misleading,” Miller wrote. “This is the epitome of evil.”

Karim Abdul-Jabbar also criticized the show for portraying the West as “deliberately dishonest”. Also Arn Telem, vice president of the Detroit Pistons.

Rufus-Isaac believes the West’s lawsuit may be one of the few cases to be overcome by dismissal, as Perlman’s book largely portrays the West in a flattering light. “If the writer doesn’t have good reason to believe the book is flawed, there’s a good chance that evil will win,” he argues.

As part of the assessment, the court will consider whether the show’s creators had sources to confirm Western thinking. Before one of them says that West could be known for acting like he did on the show, that might be enough for the producers. time to win To get rid of the libel suit.

While he believes the West should not end up in court, Novak questions whether recent documentary dramas have gone too far in distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

“They want to get all the benefits to make the show real, but they also want to enhance and dramatize it,” Novak notes. “Drama to me means upping the amp from six to eight. If someone is at three, you can’t raise it to 10. This is a good line. How do you do that without going too far?”

HBO did not respond to a request for comment.