The scene: New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox at Yankee stadium. It’s the top of the fourth with two outs. The score is 2-1, advantage Yankees. For every other Yankees fan, this would be a pretty exciting game. But for whatever reason, Andrew Rector didn’t seem to think that, for he was caught on camera, sound asleep.
It’s no surprise that ESPN commentators pointed out the ridiculousness of Rector sleeping during the game, saying, “Did he sleep through the [Carlos] Beltran homer? I mean 45,000 people stand up and cheer, and he sleeps through?”
They probably thought their comments were just light humor during a lull in the game. Little did they know how their words would anger the sleeping man.
Andrew Rector announced that he was suing ESPN and its announcers, MLB, and the Yankees for $10 million, accusing them of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Rector accused the announcers of calling him “fat” and “stupid,” saying that the whole commentary caused him mental anguish and substantial damage to his reputation.
We asked America if they thought the whole lawsuit was ridiculous, and 76% agreed. Which means the moral of the story here is: If you are going to fall asleep at a sporting event, you just have to deal with the humiliation that follows because taking legal action against seems like a bit of an overreaction.
Do you think Rector has merit behind his lawsuit? Let us know here.
