Right of reply: how athletes can respond to defamatory content or media leaks

Athletes are often in the public eye, which makes them especially vulnerable to intrusive or inaccurate media coverage.

Whether facing the threat of publication or dealing with the subsequent fallout, there are a number of steps athletes can take to protect their reputations and privacy.

In many cases, athletes may be able to prevent publication, correct inaccuracies, or take legal action to limit damage and obtain appropriate remedies.
 

How to protect an athlete’s reputation / privacy
 

1. Get legal advice promptly
   
   Early intervention is key to preventing or limiting damage that can be caused by the publication of inaccurate, confidential, or private information.
   
   Such publications may engage legal rights under defamation, misuse of private information, breach of confidence, harassment and/or data protection law, depending on the nature of the publication, so it is advisable to seek legal advice promptly.
   
   Lawyers can assess the associated risks and take urgent action, including legal correspondence with the publisher, applications for injunctions or, where content has already been published, targeted engagement to secure retractions or corrections.
   
    
2. Respond before the story is published
   If an athlete or their team is given notice that a media outlet intends to publish a story (typically, through a request for comment), their lawyers can intervene before anything is published.
   
   This may allow the athlete to request the correction of any inaccuracies, provide relevant context and/or request that the story is not published at all.
   
   Effective pre-publication engagement often leads to the amendment, delay or withdrawal of the story, without the need for court proceedings.
   
    
3. Stop the story with an injunction
   
   If a publisher is unwilling to agree not to publish the damaging or private information, it may be necessary to apply to the court for an injunction in order to prevent publication. Injunctions are typically sought on an urgent basis, where publication would cause serious and irreparable harm.
   
    
4. Take action after publication
   
   If damaging or private information has already been published, the first step is often to (urgently) engage with the publisher directly. Through legal correspondence, athletes may be able to secure the removal or correction of the publication, or provide additional context to the story.
   
   If such engagement does not resolve the matter, the athlete may wish to pursue legal claims against the publisher. Remedies may include damages, an injunction requiring the publication to be taken down or corrected, and/or an apology.
   
    
5. Align your legal and PR strategy
   
   In high-profile matters, legal advice can be complemented by a carefully considered communications strategy. Coordinating legal and PR strategies will help to manage media interest, ensure the athlete’s perspective is represented in any reporting, and limit any reputational harm.

Our experience

We regularly advise athletes and their representative on pre- and post-publication reputation management issues.

Some examples of the media law matters we have been involved in include:

• Successfully protecting a professional footballer from damaging false allegations. A football player was threatened with publication of false allegations regarding his private life by a major national newspaper and broadcaster, which could have jeopardised his position in the transfer market. Through legal correspondence, we were able to prevent publication and broadcast of the allegations entirely.

• Acting swiftly to remove confidential information published about a professional athlete. A major national newspaper published confidential information online about proceedings involving our client (an athlete). By writing to the newspaper promptly and by engaging with other media outlets, we were able to have the article taken down very quickly and were able to contain any republication online.

• Securing a public apology and damages for an athlete falsely accused by a major publication. In May 2021, The Telegraph published false doping allegations about our client, Dayana Yastremska and her father. Ms Yastremska was cleared of any wrongdoing by the independent tribunal of the ITF and, through legal correspondence, we were able to obtain an apology and damages from The Telegraph (see more information here).

• Winning a high-profile defamation case for a client targeted by false public allegations. In 2016 and 2017, WADA made public statements containing defamatory allegations regarding our client, Mamadou Sakho. We acted for Mr Sakho in joint defamation and negligence proceedings against WADA in the High Court, which led to WADA making a public apology and paying a substantial sum in damages to Mr Sakho, as well as paying his costs.

Please contact Donna Bartley or Ben Cisneros with any enquiries.

Authored by 

Donna Bartley
Partner

and

Ben Cisneros
Associate