Sharon Yeagle was an assistant to the vice president of student affairs at Virgi

Question

Sharon Yeagle was an assistant to the vice president of student affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). As part of her duties, Yeagle helped students participate in the Governor’s Fellows Program. The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech’s student newspaper, published an article about the university’s success in placing students in the program. The article’s text surrounded a block quotation attributed to Yeagle with the phrase “Director of Butt Licking” under her name. Yeagle sued the Collegiate Times for defamation. She argued that the phrase implied the commission of sodomy and was therefore actionable. What is Collegiate Times’s defense to this claim?

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

The defense is that the phrase was no more than rhetorical hyperbole. Although the phrase was disgusting, offensive, and in bad taste, it could not reasonably be understood as stating an actual fact about Yeagle's job title or her conduct, or that she committed a crime of moral turpitude. Yeagle's assertion that the phrase demonstrated a lack of integrity in the performance of her duties also failed. The phrase could not reasonably be considered as conveying factual information about Yeagle, thus it did not support a cause of action for defamation.

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