Mickelson Suing To I.D. Looney Comment Poster

Nickeesha Swaby of Courthouse News reports that Phil Mickelson is suing Videotron S.E.N.C. in Quebec Superior Court "seeking the identity of the author" of "several highly defamatory statements posted by one or more individual on the Internet, in particular on a Yahoo! website, under the pseudonyms of 'Fogroller' and 'Longitude.'"

In his complaint, Mickelson says the San Diego Superior Court authorized him to subpoena Yahoo! for information about "Fogroller" and "Longitude," and Yahoo! responded with Fogroller's Internet protocol address, which is registered to a Videotron subscriber.

Videotron's attorney said Mickelson needs a court order for the company to provide him with the information he seeks. Mickelson seeks the court order.

"It is urgent, and in the best interest of justice, to accurately identify the person using the 'Fogroller' pseudonym and posting these offensive and defamatory statements, in order to stop the dissemination of false and wrongful statements about the plaintiff and obtain reparation for the prejudice already suffered," the complaint states.

Personally, I think this is fantastic he's suing though I'm a bit surprised Yahoo has left many of these comments up (you can catch some of the postings here and here). Since it seems quite apparent to me that the names in question are posting under other names not mentioned in the suit (same writing style, same agenda, same lunacy, same accusations never proven).

It also seems quite obvious that the person in question needs serious help and has an agenda to defame Mickelson. You go Phil.

Comments

[Brian S]

wow, this could rock the Internet blog posting world. to think that you might actually held accountable for untrue gossip / slander that you post anonomosly on message boards? what a concept. honestly, I'm glad Phil will hopefully have his opportunity to shut these people up. And @Lee, how would you like to have teenage kids read this junk about their mom on the net? Gd luck Phil

[benseattle]

Ah, the beauty of the Internet, where any mindless, twisted, vengeful and unimportant piece of human garbage can seemingly insult and defame a celebrity simply because he has the courage to sit in front of a keyboard under his bridge with the rest of the gutless trolls. I surveyed a few of the postings by this pathetic scum "Fogroller" and it's immediately apparent that he's not only a self-loathing obsessive hater, but he's also un-original, only repeating the ancient and well-debunked old fabrications tales about Phil and his wife. (I love it when even Amy is quoted laughing about the Michael Jordan crap....)

Like Geoff, I say to Mickelson: Good On Ya. It's too bad more celebs don't go after the vicious slime that seek only to defame for their own amusement. With any luck, this "Fogroller" will soon become a still puddle of warm goo under the heel of the Mickelson legal assault.

[longirons]

"Ah, the beauty of the Internet, where any mindless, twisted, vengeful and unimportant piece of human garbage can seemingly insult and defame a celebrity simply because he has the courage to sit in front of a keyboard under his bridge with the rest of the gutless trolls"

this describes many of the actual articles I read on the internet as well as the comments

[BrianS]

FYI, a good explanation/refutation of the Phil stories:

http://deadspin.com/5515170/how-did-that-false-amy-mickelson+michael-jordan-rumor-start-anyway

[elf]

Philosophically I am 150% in agreement with Phil, however:

These rumors have been floating around about Phil forever. all this has done is dragged them into more of the spotlight. If you're a famous figure you're never going to be able to control all of the pure crap about you spread on the internet (this doesn't just happen to Phil). Feels like something that isn't worth wasting your time on, as it's going to end up a lose-lose situation.

[Stan_The_Man]

Come on. Is he really that thin-skinned that he's going after some internet troll who's posting vitriol that no one even believes? No one takes these people seriously. Why stop there? There are surely countless others who've posted "defamatory" things about him.

[JerryG]

Usually, I'd be in support of the poster. However, in this case what has been written is nothing short of vile. The poster has to reap the consequences of his actions.

[BrianS]

@Stan - considering this stuff has been out there for 5 years or more, I am not sure thin skinned is accurate. Who knows what triggered this ? Maybe someone in his family was shown it or came across it, and it ticked Phil off.

[smails]

Jeff's girlfirend wears army boots.

[Baltch]

if Phil thinks he has been seriously defamed he should go for it, maybe this guy is cyber-stalking him, posting his insanity at any golf/sports related site, however I suspect Phil's actions are more calling attention to this person. Plus he's probably Canadian, and in Canada we take freedom of speech seriously, which means you have to make an actual case for defamation (difficult to do) before the person incurs any legal costs, and if you lose the case the actioner must pay the legal cost of the defendant. Unfortunately for Phil this means that he can't teach him a lesson by tieing him up with legal fees (which has been done by companies like Apple in the US), he actually must make the case against the person, which again is difficult due to defamation having a very high threashold to make because of fear that public figures might use it to stifle honest debate and critiicism. Anyways this person making these comments sucks, and I'm embarrassed to have them in my country. I hope Phil doesn't hold it against us because the Canadian Open would be more awesome with him in attendance

[Sequimster]

@tlavin: What's your take on PM's response?

[Sari]

Somewhere, somehow, isn't this Tiger's fault?

[AK47]

"Is that the real Phil?" - Vijay Singh, when asked why he's not as fan friendly as Mickelson

[Joe Backyard]

Sorry, I can only surmise that Mickelson has something to hide for him to be spending his money let alone his time on some message board banter.

[BrianS]

@Joe and others. The internet stuff has been out there for years. He's done nothing about it, and it really hasn't been given much credibility (deservedly so, see attached story)

http://deadspin.com/5515170/how-did-that-false-amy-mickelson+michael-jordan-rumor-start-anyway

So if it all is really true, why in the world would he go after these guys now ? And btw, per Geoff's story, he has already proven in a US Court some validity of his complaint, or else the subpoena would not have been served to Yahoo. All it will do is draw attention to the rumors. You would be darn sure he has his ducks in a row prior to taking these steps, or these claims run the risk of being proven as true.

[Nubi]

I don't know how legit the rumors are, but this certainly isn't the first time I heard them. Hope that they are not true. Golf does not need this.

[Hawkeye]

To those who wonder why he's waited until now to seek action, I would guess that it's because it has been going on for more than five years and doesn't appear to stop. Now his children are entering their teens and we all know how good 13-year-olds are at critical reading (not very).
By the way, "freedom of speech" is one of the most misunderstood and misused concepts of democracy. It means that you should be free to speak your mind on any matter, but also take responsibility for what you say and take the concequences if you go too far. Many people have a tendency to forget that last part. If you don't want to take responsibility for your words, don't say anything. I'm 200% behind Phil on this matter.

[Psycho]

I can't imagine Canadian defamation law is that much different to British. In the UK that poster, Fogroller, would be looking at a very large bill, potentially. I can't see how anyone could claim that those allegations, unless justified, weren't defamatory.

[Jonathan]

Phil may be reacting to shutting down an insider. Fogroller is simply making up a highly detailed tale or citing facts as only a very insider would know. Could Phil be worried about a disgruntled insider?

[Fan]

Some people apparently look at Phil as a great target - successful, talented, family man, always enjoying life. Rolls with the punches.

Jealousy is as old as mankind, and the internet only the latest outlet for expressing it.

Has anyone checked Rees' IP address?

[Chris from DE]

First, I agree that he is taking action because his children have stumbled upon this MJ and illegitimate child stuff and have probably become very upset by it. Secondly, Canadian law might not apply here. Civilly, a Canadian can certainly be sued in an American state court and that state's law may be applied if the state court has jurisdiction and is the proper venue. I wouldn't assume that Canadian defamation law applies. Phil is an American citizen and Yahoo is an American company headquartered and incorporated in America. The posts have been made on the American version of Yahoo. I would say that California state courts would be an appropriate jurisdiction.

[elf]

Congrats to Phil, he's now made TMZ, and had the story splashed on golf, golf channel, cbs etc. I get being upset, especially if your kids see it, but he's turned it into a story. And the reality is that there's no way to control what's said about you on the internet, sad but true.

[Prut]

Back when the Tiger thing was unfolding, Gerald Posner was reporting on it for the Daily Beast, writing several stories. In one, he talked about all the illicit and unusual sex going on on the PGA Tour and went on one to cite one "high profile couple," or something like that, that was really into swapping and group sex, or some such nonsense. He didn't identify the couple, but I think it was meant for the reader to just assume it was you know who. Posner was later canned for plagiarism. Anyone remember that?

[Prut]

Oops. I misremembered a little. Here's the story about the tour sexcapades:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/12/04/the-secret-world-of-golf-groupies.html

Here's the passage: Two of those interviewed claimed to “know” that one of golf’s superstars, and his wife, were swingers, a rumor that persistently makes the rounds on the Internet and is repeated even by other golfers on the tour.

[Prut]

Oops. I misremembered a little. Here's the story about the tour sexcapades:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/12/04/the-secret-world-of-golf-groupies.html

Here's the passage: Two of those interviewed claimed to “know” that one of golf’s superstars, and his wife, were swingers, a rumor that persistently makes the rounds on the Internet and is repeated even by other golfers on the tour.

[Kevin]

@Fan

The Rees comment is hilarious. Maybe Phil actually knows who it is and wants to take that person down. Maybe its not JUST a poster???

[Wu]

To play devil's advocate - what happens if this troll is outed, only to be someone who works for the tour (or used to work for it), a caddie, a sibling of a tour player, a volunteer, a sponsor, a blackjack dealer....anyone that could have some degree of separation from Phil...what happens then? Do we think there's a shred of truth among the lies? Is he forced to retract but does anyone believe it? This is interesting on a whole lot of levels.