Ryan Zimmerman’s defamation lawsuit against Al Jazeera America and multiple other parties moved into U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday, when a joint motion hearing took place in the courtroom of judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The hearing lasted more than two hours and ended with Jackson stating she will issue a written ruling on the defense’s motions to dismiss the suits from Zimmerman, the Washington Nationals first baseman, and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who were each named as performance-enhancing drug users in Al Jazeera America’s documentary called, “The Dark Side,” which was published Dec. 26, 2015. Both have denied the allegations and later were cleared of any violations by a Major League Baseball investigation. Jackson did not say when she will rule.
Neither Zimmerman or Howard were present Tuesday. Each were in the stadiums for their respective teams Tuesday night while lawyers discussed their now merged case in downtown D.C.
At the core of the discussion is if the plaintiffs can show Al Jazeera America acted with “actual malice” by airing the documentary. Among the standards for actual malice are that the plaintiff must show the author had serious doubts as to the veracity of what was being published or acted “with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
Zimmerman filed suit against Al Jazeera America, the Al Jazeera Media Network, Al Jazeera Media International, Liam Collins and reporter Deborah Davies on Jan. 5 following the airing of a documentary in which Charlie Sly claimed he supplied Zimmerman with performance-enhancing drugs, specifically, Delta 2. Zimmerman quickly and vehemently denied the accusation. He filed his defamation suit to prove his innocence, he said, despite those types of suits often being difficult to win.
Major League Baseball announced Aug. 19 that it “did not find any violations” when it investigated the accusations made in the documentary, clearing Zimmerman and Howard.
Sly, a former Indianapolis anti-aging institute worker, recanted his statements in a YouTube video just prior to the “The Dark Side” airing. Zimmerman said in the past that he has never met Sly. According to court documents, Zimmerman’s lawyers also claim that Al Jazeera America was informed in writing prior to airing the broadcast that Sly’s statements were false.
Both sides have agreed to stay the discovery process, which would be the most invasive part of the suit for Zimmerman. Should discovery proceed, Zimmerman’s personal correspondences will be looked into. He could also be deposed and subpoenas could be sent. Zimmerman said in February that his willingness to navigate the discovery process is another sign of his innocence.
Zimmerman, 31, was also recently named the Nationals’ candidate for MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Zimmerman entered Tuesday’s game hitting .213. He is a career .278 hitter.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.