Patrick Reed Suing Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel for Defamation
Patrick Reed is suing Golf Channel and network personality Brandel Chamblee for defamation, seeking $750 million in damages.
The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion who earlier this year moved from the PGA Tour to what is now called the LIV Golf Invitational Series, alleges that Chamblee and the network have been "actively targeting Reed since he was 23 years old, to destroy his reputation, create hate, and a hostile work environment for him, and with the intention to discredit his name and accomplishments as a young, elite, world-class golfer."
The complaint continues: "It is well-known on tour that Mr. Reed has been abused and endured more than any other golfer from fans or spectators who have been allowed to scream obscenities only to be glorified by NBC's Golf Channel for doing so, because it gets Defendants Chamblee and Golf Channel "clicks," viewership, ratings and increased revenue."
Chamblee, who won once in his PGA Tour career, has become one of the game’s leading analysts. He was highly critical of Reed in the aftermath of a rule incident at the Hero World Challenge in 2019 in which Reed was penalized for improving his lie in a sandy waste area.
And he has also been a harsh critic of LIV Golf, calling out the Saudi-backed venture because of the government’s human rights issues, among other things.
The complaint contends that the defendants have been “conspiring with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour" and "continue to use the same and or similar tactics to defame other LIV players and LIV.’’ The suit said Reed was “constructively terminated’’ from the PGA Tour, forcing him to join LIV Golf.
The suit contends that following last week’s court ruling in which three LIV players were denied a temporary restraining order to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs, Chamblee “viciously defamed Reed’’ and other LIV golfers when he said on the air that “Golf won today. Murderers lost.’’ And that he defamed Reed by calling him a “murderer’’ because he plays with LIV Golf.
The suit also has a lengthy list of insults and taunts that Reed has heard at golf tournaments, mostly calling him out in some manner for cheating.
Reed, 32, has played in two LIV events so far, finishing third at the tournament played outside of Portland and fifth two weeks ago in New Jersey. His team, captained by Dustin Johnson, has won both events. Reed also competed in the British Open at St. Andrews, where he tied for 47th.
Last week, Reed tied for 31st at the International Series Singapore event and is playing in another such tournament this week in South Korea. The series is backed by an investment from LIV Golf, which will have many of its participants play in the Asian Tour-sponsored tournaments.
The next LIV Golf event is outside of Boston, Sept. 2-4.
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