NFL Player Sues ESPN for Posting Medical Records
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NY Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is suing ESPN and Reporter Adam Schefter for posting his private medical records online.
Fox News reports that Pierre-Paul, 27, sued ESPN and Schefter in a Florida court Wednesday citing a violation of his privacy.
The NFL player blew off a finger in a July 4 fireworks mishap and was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, according to his lawyers Mitchell Schuster and Kevin Fritz.
Schefter “improperly obtained” Pierre-Paul’s medical chart showing the defensive end had his right index finger amputated and posting the record on Twitter to nearly 4 million followers, the suit says.
“This action arises out of ESPN reporter Schefter’s blatant disregard for the private and confidential nature of plaintiff’s medical records, all so Schefter could show the world that he had ‘supporting proof’ of a surgical procedure,” the suit says.
Schefter, 49, who lives in New York, is a regular contributor to ESPN TV programs like “NFL Insiders,” “Monday Night Countdown” and “SportsCenter.”
Pierre-Paul’s Miami Dade County civil suit, which does not specify money damages, says that while the player’s injury may have been “a matter of legitimate public concern” the “chart was not.”
