Pro Golfer Patrick Reed Demands Apology From Jake Tapper and Bob Costas, Threatens CNN With $450 Million Lawsuit

Attorney Patrick Reed, professional golfer, threatened CNN with a $450 Million lawsuit after CNN aired a segment in the which anchor Jake Tapper criticized LIV Golf’s Saudi-backed backing.

Larry Klayman, an attorney, wrote CNN on Sunday with a letter claiming that CNN had aired a false report. “highly defamatory” Segment in which Jake Tapper, Bob Costas and Bob Costas discuss the legal battle between LIV and the PGA Tour. Klayman also wrote a letter to Bloomberg regarding an article. “detailed how LIV was accused of “using its U.S. lawsuit against PGA to ‘build an intelligence file’ on families of 9/11 victims who have been critical of the kingdom and its new professional golf circuit,’” According to Radar Online.

Patrick Reed of 4 Aces GC lines up a putt on the third green during the team championship stroke-play round of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 30, 2022, in Doral, Florida. (Patrick Smith/LIV golf via Getty Images

CNN received the letter threatening to sue from Jake Tapper, Bob Costas and Chris Licht, new CEO at CNN. “if an on-air public apology is not immediately made to Mr. Reed.” Klayman demanded, too, that the “broadcast [be] removed and retracted from CNN’s websites, streaming services and other forms of publication, in order to mitigate the damage which they three have caused.” The letter went so far as saying that discipline should even be considered “meted out to Tapper and Costas.”

Klayman’s letter also claimed that the broadcast was “also designed to incite ridicule, hatred and violence against LIV Golf players.”

Although Tapper didn’t mention Reed in his segment he did mention that LIV earnings were equivalent to “blood money.”

“Last year, with that money, they snagged several top PGA players to come on board,” Tapper stated. “The human-rights-challenged Saudis did this by offering these players quite a bit of money. A lot of money. Blood money? Sure, maybe. A lot of it.”

“The broadcast republishes with reckless disregard for the truth, a prior Bloomberg article,” Let the letter be read.

Klayman indicated that Klayman believed his client might be interested in a divorce. “damages well in excess of $450,000,000 dollars which includes compensatory, actual, special and punitive damages.”

CNN released a statement calling out the lawsuit “frivolous.”

“This is a frivolous lawsuit, whose aim is to chill free speech and intimidate journalists from covering important stories about the Saudi government and the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament,” CNN spokesperson stated that “CNN will aggressively defend its reporting, which did not even mention the plaintiff in its coverage.”

Absolutely howling at Gannett/Golfweek’s reaction to Patrick Reed’s defamation lawsuit lobbed at them

We’re so glad to be here pic.twitter.com/eoWqOYN6SY

— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) January 15, 2023