Today Phil Mickelson filed a lawsuit against the Canadian Internet Service Provider Videotron in hopes to find out who has been posting “vexatious statements” about his family and specifically his wife. Mickelson, one of the golf’s most popular golfers and leaders in off the course earnings is attempting to receive information about anonymous posters that have been spreading rumors about his life. Currently, the Internet Service Provider has information about the defamer but refuses to give up the information. Mickelson is hoping a lawsuit will end the drama and answer some of his family’s questions.
”I’m all for freedom of speech, but I won’t tolerate defamation,” Mickelson said Thursday. His lawsuit against the Canadian Internet Service Provider stated that comments were posted on a Yahoo! Sports article by users with the handles of “Fogroller” and “Longitude” that are defamatory to his family and himelf. Some of the comments state that Mickelson’s wife fathered an illegitimate child and has had an affair.
It seems to me that Mickelson is over reacting on comments on an online article. Everyday people with nothing better to do post comments on articles and consistently bicker back and forth. Who actually takes these comments serious enough to file a lawsuit? That is of course unless there is something to hide…
”If we can stop one person, then it’s one less person who can get away with this,” Mickelson’s lawyer said. ”Maybe it will have a chilling effect. I don’t know. If other people are victims of this and want to take up the mantra, that’s fine. It was a very narrow decision Phil and I made to discover this person’s identity and stop it.”
Stay tuned, this lawsuit should definitely be interesting….
