Slandered?

So Phil believes Scott McCarron slandered him?

Comments

[Tlavin]

Pretty close but no slandar...

[bigness]

McCarron did slander him. Phil is not cheating and MCarron accused him, in public, of cheating. That is the definition of slander and I hope Phil sues the fool. That will stop all this crap about grooves in it's tracks. McCarron should talk while he uses the long putter. Legal but in the "spirit of the rules?"
This has not been a good period for golf and this only adds to it. Is Finchem's reign about to end? He is botching Tiger and he is botching grooves leaving to players to carve each other up. Very poorly done.

[GCOG]

Of course it is slander. Phil is following the rules. The club is allowed. And McC called him a cheater, which is an extremeley hostile act. It is incendiary.

[Jim]

McCarron better lawyer up; what a fool, calls Phil a cheater then fails to back it up with Jim Grey interview. The broomstick is more in the grey area then a Eye 2 wedge, pure opinion-I admit it.

I bet McCarron wants a do over now.

Yes it is slander

[FWIW]

And everybody thought this PGA Tour season wouldn't be interesting without Tiger.

The reactions of McCarron and Mediate are absurd and Phil has every right to be pissed. Next time either one of those guys takes a drop two long-putter lengths away and then hits with a lob wedge, I hope everyone screams "cheater" at them for violating the spirit of the rules.

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Calling someone a cheater is definitely slander if the person isn't cheating. And Phil isn't since the particular club is conforming. Time for L'il Timmy to step up and make peace between the second best golfer in the world (maybe first best golfer given the events since Thanksgiving?) and a long-putter-using pissant. Yeah, that'll happen.

[Kevin]

Did McCarron say it was "his opinion" that Phil was cheating?

[BenSeattle]

Lefty is an atteniton-hog who purposely put the PING in his bag simply BECAUSE he knew it would create a firestorm. He's disagreed with the the USGA on any number of equipment issues and this is his childish way of making a point -- to ignore the spiri of the rule because a loophole allows him too. (An action similar to his skipping of a FedEx event in 2008 simply because the Tour wouldn't kow-tow to his own selfish wishes.)

If club is both "non-conforming" AND "approved for play," you have a choice: you can stick an old wedge in the bag because it's "legal" or you can act like a golfer and a sportsman and say "Not for me."

Lefty looks mightly smug as he travels down the Low Road.

[Hitter]

accusing someone of cheating in golf is, unlike othere sports, a very serious charge. mc carron has slandered him, as the charge is untrue.

[Joe]

McCarron might be a jackass but what he said doesn't rise to the level of slander.

Because Phil Mickelson is a "public figure," in the eyes of the law, the threshold for slander is higher. It is not enough that McCarron is wrong; he must have known he was saying was wrong when he said it, and he must have said it nonetheless with malice and aforethought. That's tough to prove in court.

[GCOG]

Ben, as they say: one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.

So Phil is sticking it in the USGA's eye because "He's disagreed with the the USGA on any number of equipment issues". And the regulars on this site always admire everything the USGA does or does not do. Hahahahaha. You are defending the USGA over an equipment issue. Hahahahahaha.

And poor old Phil childishly can't help himself.

Let it be known from this day forward that in the childish battle between the most popular golfer in the world and the USGA equipment regulators, Ben sided with the Blue Coats. Hahahahahahaha

[Kevin]

Phil is really taking advantage of the void created by Tiger's absence. What a tool (my opinion, Phil).

[DRM]

You know what? It's a mistake for Phil to turn this into a bigger deal. The more attention he draws to it by taking it to court, the more people will look at the fact that he's taking advantage of a loophole in the same way that corporations take advantage of tax loopholes. Just because something is LEGAL does not mean it is ETHICAL. I don't think Phil wants people to start analyzing the ethics of this because it doesn't reflect well on him.

[Tighthead]

DRM - Nantz made the point that McCarron is doing the Tour no favours by calling the current figurehead player a cheat.

Is Rocco still prattling on about this? I would have thought that calling another man's wife your "best friend" in public while nailing her in private is ethically vague. Of course that is real life, wedges are so much more a reflection of the man.

[DRM]

Tighthead,

I agree with what Nantz said, but Phil is about to blow this issue up a hell of a lot more by taking this to court. It's basically just going to be more media coverage for this situation. That is the last thing he should be asking for right now because whether he wants to deny it or not, what he's doing is unethical even if it's 100% legal. If I were him, I'd just have a word with McCarron in private about it and tell him to mind his own damn business.

[Jim]

Even if Phil can't win a slander case, he can out lawyer McCarron on a factor of 50-1, in that case Phil will win.

[Tighthead]

DRM - Phil hasn't taken it to court and I don't think he will. I think it was a shot across McCarron's bow and I bet they are both pretty quiet after this.

[DRM]

Tighthead, that would be the best solution to this situation. The last thing anyone (the Tour, Mickelson, or McCarron) needs is this going to court. None of them will come out looking good if that happens. Hopefully there's a quick resolution, possibly an apology from McCarron and a clarification that he shouldn't have used the word "cheat" to describe his feelings on the matter.

[Justin]

OR,

This is a heady move by PM to get EVERY detail of this groove rule worked out. Yes, he's a techy golf nerd. Yes, McCarron slandered him (based on Joe's definition). I really don't think PM will go after McCarron in court other than to take a shot at the PGA, USGA and R&A. If anything, I think this will clarify what everyone has been calling a "knee-jerk" rule change.

Not saying I agree or disagree with any of it, but with the staggered implementation, manufacturing confusion (think Callaway's difficulty with wedges going from conforming-to-nonconforming seemingly overnight), backdoor distance effect and Eye2 loophole- this whole ordeal is a mess.

I hope clarity is Mickelson's ultimate goal here. I don't remember who it was, but someone years back accused Phil of using illegal equipment. The guy didn't keep his card after he made his statements. As he was cleaning out his locker, he found a note from PM saying something to the effect of 'thanks for your concern, good luck at Q School'. I believe if PM was going to go after McCarron, it'd be that way- privately. I think/hope he's thinking bigger picture here.

[DRM]

Justin,

Hopefully you're right that Phil has some kind of broader point to make other than simply trying to gain an advantage over his peers. It's not like he's struggling to make cuts or keep his card. He's one of the best wedge players ever. He's one of the most talented players to ever pick up a wedge. Why would he of all people actually need to take advantage of this loophole? Hopefully he is just trying to make a point about how big of a joke this situation was from the beginning.

[Wisconsin Reader]

Phil's words today might make McCarron and these other fools think for a change before they start talking to a microphone. . . We hear athletes in other sports make similar stupid comments all the time and we immediately discount them by "considering the source."

Maybe it is time to realize that most PGA Tour players are also athletes and not the sharpest knives in the drawer either. . . Golf is the ONLY professional sport wherein cheating is NOT approved of and an intregal part of the game. . . Golf is NOT the American pastime primarily because it is honest and does not tolerate our national obsession of "winning at any cost." . . . Any player on the PGA Tour who accuses another player of "cheating" without proof should be suspended and deserves to be sued for damages. . . This is serious and players should be held accountable. . . Golf is special . . . It is played by very specific rules and players report violations on themselves. . . Phil has NOT violated any rules.

[The O]

Truth is a defense. Remember that, FIGJAM.

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

Hang on chaps. Didn't McCarron deny that he accused Mickelson directly of cheating. I thought he claimed to have said something along the lines of ... "anyone who uses this club is cheating". A fine distinction but a distinction nevertheless.

[bigness]

Here is a legal deifinition of slander:

Slander is the oral communication of false statements that are harmful to a person's reputation. If the statements are proven to be true, it is a complete defense to a charge of slander. Oral opinions that don't contain statements of fact don't constitute slander. Slander is an act of communication that causes someone to be shamed, ridiculed, held in contempt, lowered in the estimation of the community, or to lose employment status or earnings or otherwise suffer a damaged reputation. Slander is a subcategory of defamation.

The basic elements of a claim of slander include;

a defamatory statement;
published to third parties; and
which the speaker or publisher knew or should have known was false.

Seems like game, set, match for McCarron. I hope Phil does file a lawsuit. That will cause everybody on the Tour to shut up on this subject

[Joel]

I yern for the old days, Tiger and his women, lousy golf architecture and PGA pros playing for ten times too much money. Looks like Tim Finchem will get involved.

[pasaplayer]

Maybe Mr. Finchem can partner with Ms. Bivens in his next gig. Sooner than later?