The dozens of current and former major-league baseball players named in the Mitchell report face a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” future defending allegations they used performance enhancing substances, legal experts say.
Even if innocent, ballplayers face a tough legal battle. Not only must they prove the statements are false, their status as public figures forces them to prove the statements were said maliciously.
And if guilty, experts warn the worst thing they could do is deny the truth.
“I’d be surprised if anyone brings a case of this,” Denver attorney Roger Castle said. “They just want to get out of the news, not create more news by a lawsuit.”
Sports entertainment experts say the damage done by a mention in the 409-page report released Thursday could be long lasting, especially on future earnings from the mercurial commercial endorsements industry.
“The truth is always the ultimate defense,” said Pat Linden, a Denver sports law attorney at Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert. “If there is any reasonable truth, it’s a problem. But if the players are truthful and honest, they can start proving it like crazy to the public that they don’t have a problem.”
Burden on “public figure”
The difficulty is libel and slander laws — written and spoken defamation — are applied differently for private persons than public ones.
“As a public figure, the player has the burden to prove the statements are false and, additionally, that the person who made them knew they were false or made them with a reckless disregard for the truth,” Castle said.
That may push players to the background, especially those not seeking any more publicity than they’ve already received, sports law experts say.
“The best method may be to put your head down and hope it blows over while asking your agent for some good attorneys,” said Leigh Augustine, a University of Denver sports law professor. “If you’re guilty and know in your heart that you are, don’t be a Michael Vick and announce your innocence only to end up in jail.”
Experts refer to former Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who pointed a finger at a congressional panel in 2005 and said: “I have never used steroids. Period.”
Later that year, MLB suspended him for testing positive for steroids in what became his final season.
“He has no future in the game because of how he handled it,” said Mac Clouse, a DU finance professor who has studied the economics of the game.
If guilty, players have only one option: “Admit it,” said agent Darren Prince, whose Prince Marketing Group represents former athletes such as Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan.
“Americans forgive and forget pretty easily,” Prince said. “You have to fess up that you made a mistake; say you don’t want kids to follow in your footsteps. That will translate into marketability at a later date.”
Fans will decide
Despite a player’s best efforts at damage control, the ultimate decision lies with the fans, according to Marc Ippolito, president of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing in Chicago.
“There is probably a slice of consumers and baseball fans out there who might not even care if a player has been using steroids,” Ippolito said. “But there will be plenty of people out there who see those players named as tainted.”
MLB Players Association executive director Donald Fehr said that implicated players face a lifetime of fallout. “Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever,” Fehr said.
That could be, but the game will endure, Clouse said.
“If you are a Yankees fan, you will remain a Yankees fan,” Clouse said. “But instead of getting a Roger Clemens jersey, you’ll get a Derek Jeter jersey.”
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
