Oklahoma sports broadcaster wins astonishing $25M lawsuit after outlet incorrectly reports he used N-word

A jury in Oklahoma has awarded a sports broadcaster $25 million after an outlet erroneously reported that he had used the N-word during a hot-mic moment.

In March 2021, former friends and fellow broadcasters Scott Sapulpa and Matt Rowan sat down to announce a girls' basketball game between Norman High School and Midwest City High School. When the national anthem began to play before the game, the team from Norman took a knee, prompting a profanity-laced tirade from Rowan.

"They’re kneeling? F*** them. I hope Norman gets their a** kicked," Rowan ranted.

Sapulpa then chimed in and asked, "Are you serious?"

Rowan ignored Sapulpa's question. "F*** them. I hope they lose. Come on, Midwest City," Rowan continued. "They’re going to kneel like that? Hell with them. They even saluting the flag? Some of them aren’t. F***ing n*****s."

Unbeknownst to the two men, their mics remained turned on, and Rowan's comments were broadcast to the livestreaming audience.

At 11 a.m. the following day, the Oklahoman, the largest newspaper in the state, reported on the comments without identifying a speaker. A sports reporter then updated the article at 12:37 p.m. that day to report that Sapulpa had made them. At 3:05 p.m., the outlet removed Sapulpa's name in connection with the comments, and at 5:35 p.m., correctly attributed the remarks to Rowan.

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Last week, during a civil trial alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Sapulpa testified that he was soon bombarded with hateful text messages, including:

• "Racist f***er,"
• "Racist trash. Pls kill yourself,"
• "You racist piece of s*** f*** you I hope your kids get als," and
• "Your parents raised a b****."

Hulbert Public Schools, where Sapulpa worked as a teacher and had previously coached football, immediately placed him on administrative leave, even though administrators knew he wasn't the speaker. "While it has been reported incorrectly that our employee was the announcer who said racist language," said a statement from Hulbert Superintendent Jolyn Choate, "our employee should have stood up for the students and contested the racist language from the other announcer and the hate and intolerance it represents."

Attorney Bob Nelon, who represented Gannett, the media conglomerate which acquired the Oklahoman in 2019, used similar reasoning during trial. "[Sapulpa] can’t disassociate himself from the true fact he was part of a broadcast team who used racist language," Nelon claimed.

Sapulpa countered that he did confront Rowan about the inappropriate language, but that conversation wasn't caught by the mics. Sapulpa claimed that the case of misidentification caused Hulbert High School, his alma mater, not to renew his contract and for other school districts to refuse to hire him.

"There would be some backlash," Broken Arrow associate athletic director Alton Lusk admitted on the stand. "There would be people who know [Sapulpa] and know he didn’t say that, but on the other hand, there would be some people who don’t know.

"So, for me, I wouldn’t recommend him [for hire], personally," Lusk added.

About six months after the broadcast, Sapulpa landed a job as an after-school coordinator and girls' softball coach with Pawhuska Public Schools. Pawhuska head football coach Matt Hennessey agreed with Lusk that Sapulpa was unlikely to get a more prominent position in the school district.

Sapulpa alleged that the Oklahoman's mistake also led to the collapse of his private business, Pullman 360, and the destruction of many of his personal relationships, including with former players and students.

"They wanted to be first; they wanted to be on the front page," Sapulpa's attorney, Michael Barkett, said in closing arguments. "Scott was not a person to them; he was a name."

In speaking on behalf of Gannett, Nelon claimed that the Oklahoman made a "temporary error." He also argued that assessing a heavy fine against Gannett would ultimately harm the other small-town outlets it owns. "Mistakes happen," Nelon said. "Gannett is made up of people — over 11,000 people. When you punish Gannett, you're punishing all those small-town newspaper editors."

On Monday, the jury sided with Sapulpa, determining that he deserved $5 million in actual damages and $20 million in punitive damages.

"We're just so happy for Scott," Barkett said. "Hopefully this will vindicate his name."

Gannett said it plans to appeal. "There was no evidence presented to the jury that The Oklahoman acted with any awareness that what was reported was false or with any intention to harm the plaintiff in this case," said spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton.

Rowan also testified at trial and admitted he was the one who made the remarks. Rowan blamed the issue on a "poor choice of words" and anger over the Norman team's decision to disrespect the national anthem. "It deeply offended me," Rowan stated.

A statement widely shared and attributed to Rowan indicated that spiking sugar levels resulting from his diabetic condition may have caused him to "become disoriented" that day during the game, but Rowan distanced himself that statement on the stand, claiming that an unidentified attorney had written it for him.

Both men stated that they have not spoken since shortly after the incident.

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