Rumors of a Dez Bryant Videotape

[fordman84]

Libel and slander are very difficult to prove in court. I doubt Dez would win, but he has enough money to cause a shitstorm if he wants to do so.

I thought it was easy to prove, but difficult to prove that it caused you damage. If everyone agrees he is a $12M a year receiver (at minimum) and he signs a deal for $9M...pretty easy to show damage caused by the slander.

 

[TxHeat]

Libel and slander are very difficult to prove in court. I doubt Dez would win, but he has enough money to cause a shitstorm if he wants to do so.

If he has a good attorney they could make a case that this whole fabricated bunch of crap caused him to sign a lesser contract than he could have, he will win.

 

[TxHeat]

I thought it was easy to prove, but difficult to prove that it caused you damage. If everyone agrees he is a $12M a year receiver (at minimum) and he signs a deal for $9M...pretty easy to show damage caused by the slander.

exactly! easy to prove that.

 

[Iggloo]

From that account, it is not clear whether Dez dragged the woman, that is for sure. You would need the video to see it, and that remains unknown.

In terms of libel/slander, Dez is a public figure, and the bar for them to win such suits is very high. They not only need to prove that someone spread falsehoods about them, but that they did it KNOWINGLY, with "actual malice". That is almost impossible to prove.

 

[BritishDolfan]

All I've heard is that it is someone who used to be Dez's friend but isn't anymore and is looking for a payday. Supposedly it is from a Wal-mart surveillance cam, and it is old.

So I wonder how an ex-friend gets ahold of old walmart video of Dez.

Dunno how it works in TX, but in the UK you can ask for security footage if you are in it. So maybe this guy is also in the video and used that method to get it.

 

[TxHeat]

Dunno how it works in TX, but in the UK you can ask for security footage if you are in it. So maybe this guy is also in the video and used that method to get it.

like I said, the videos from Wal-Mart are typically very poor quality. Even 7-11 has better cameras. So trying to identify a grainy image from a distance will be quite impossible and that's probably why this supposed video has been around since last September.

 

[SteveDallas]

Having the fuzz show up at your place a couple times a year is never a good thing, but if no charges are ever filed and no arrest are made then everyone needs to get over it. We had a party raided and shut down four times on the same night. Cops lost their sense of humour and started taking people to jail on the fourth trip. The neighbours were pissed. Several past out guys were tossed in the dumpster to keep the cops from taking them to jail. Found a drunk girl passed out in my closet the next afternoon. No one was hurt, everyone had a good time. Just good clean fun.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

If he has a good attorney they could make a case that this whole fabricated bunch of crap caused him to sign a lesser contract than he could have, he will win.

(If there's a lawyer out there, please do tell me if I am wrong)

But it's actually harder for Dez being a public figure as he would actually have to prove malice.

From Defamation Law Made Simple | Nolo.com

People who aren't elected but who are still public figures because they are influential or famous -- like movie stars -- also have to prove that defamatory statements were made with actual malice, in most cases.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I thought it was easy to prove, but difficult to prove that it caused you damage. If everyone agrees he is a $12M a year receiver (at minimum) and he signs a deal for $9M...pretty easy to show damage caused by the slander.

Different standard for public figures.

You can do the same thing for meat and Oprah a few years back.

 

[fordman84]

From that account, it is not clear whether Dez dragged the woman, that is for sure. You would need the video to see it, and that remains unknown.

In terms of libel/slander, Dez is a public figure, and the bar for them to win such suits is very high. They not only need to prove that someone spread falsehoods about them, but that they did it KNOWINGLY, with "actual malice". That is almost impossible to prove.

maybe it is impossible. But when I hear terms like "I've seen the video", "I know what is on the video and it's bad", "What i've seen is 5x worse than ray rice" etc...that's an easy case. You are flat out lying, and it has a clear effect on his value.

 

[fordman84]

Dunno how it works in TX, but in the UK you can ask for security footage if you are in it. So maybe this guy is also in the video and used that method to get it.

And he has been sitting on it for 4 years?

 

[BritishDolfan]

And he has been sitting on it for 4 years?

Yeah, that part seems a bit strange. Obviously waiting for an opportune moment to release it

 

[TxHeat]

And he has been sitting on it for 4 years?

I think that might be where the malice comes in. Waiting for Dez to sign a new contract knowing this could affect his value.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Yeah, that part seems a bit strange. Obviously waiting for an opportune moment to release it

If this video exists, very big if, FA would be a good time for this jerk to blackmail Dez.

 

[BritishDolfan]

If this video exists, very big if, FA would be a good time for this jerk to blackmail Dez.

Indeed.

 

[UK Cowboy]

like I said, the videos from Wal-Mart are typically very poor quality. Even 7-11 has better cameras. So trying to identify a grainy image from a distance will be quite impossible and that's probably why this supposed video has been around since last September.

Not to mention it's from 4 years ago. There was a police report, nothing came of it, the league office has know about it, nothing has come of it. The Cowboys not giving Dez a long-term extension at this point is pretty idiotic IMO. If anything he's done in the last 5 years was something they couldn't live with, they should have traded him. Now they are gonna tag him and have a huge cap number this year? Then what? They're gonna tag him again next year, or sign him long term. Since they aren't letting him go, follow the advice of Teddy KGB and "pay that man his money"

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I think that might be where the malice comes in. Waiting for Dez to sign a new contract knowing this could affect his value.

Not sure you can prove malice on the Florio, Schefter, etc on that. There's a reason Schefter danced around saying concretely that the video exists.

 

[Iggloo]

Nothing much came of the Ray Rice situation until video dropped, and then all hell broke loose.

Video is very powerful. As Florio said the other say, if there was video of AP hurting his child with a stick, do you think he would ever play football again?

 

[TxHeat]

Not sure you can prove malice on the Florio, Schefter, etc on that. There's a reason Schefter danced around saying concretely that the video exists.

but didn't Schefter say a video of Dez exists and it's bad? that still hasn't been proven and may not be.

 

[Iggloo]

I don't think any of the reporters claimed they actually saw the video, unless I have missed that.