Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
The masses can be forgiven for struggling to remember the name “Nick Sandmann”. People’s attention spans are short and the vigorous and fleeting nature of the 24-hour news cycle does anything but help. Nick Sandmann will be remembered, to those who remember him, as the central character in the Covington boys scandal when the media falsely demonized Sandmann as a racist instigator for committing the crime of smiling at a native american activist who was banging a drum in Washington D.C.
But the story didn’t end there. Rather, it began there. Just this week, Sandmann vowed to appeal a judge’s decision throw out a libel suit that concerns several major news organizations.
These include The New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, Gannett, and Rolling Stone.
In response, Sandmann stated, “Obviously, the ruling yesterday was a disappointment for my family and I. I’m appealing the decision in the sixth circuit. Here’s why: Judge Bertelsmann revisited the statements that I ‘blocked Nathan Phillips’ and ‘would not allow him to retreat.’
Thread: Obviously, the ruling yesterday was a disappointment for my family and I. I’m appealing the decision in the sixth circuit.
— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) July 28, 2022
Here’s why:
“His job was to rule on the legal issue of what those statements were. If they were factual claims, I could proceed and a jury would then decide if they were defamatory.”
“But if they were opinions, it is protected speech that I cannot sue for. The judge ruled that the media companies published opinion.”
“The problem is: it isn’t. “X did Y” is very different from “I believe X is Y”
“For example, ‘Sandmann blocked (keyword) Phillips’ is a factual claim. ‘I believe Sandmann is a racist’ is protected opinion.”
“I should be able to proceed due to the factual claim the defending media companies made which was used in conjunction with negative connotations of racism and harassment that defamed me.”
“I wrote an op-ed recently in which I mentioned defamation cases being a uphill battle.”
“This is why.”
“There is complete indisputable video evidence along with publications that present falsehoods.”
“Nevertheless, I have learned how to be patient and keep the will to move forward. I am going to continue on that path.”
Just to refresh everyone’s memory, Deadline reported that back in 2019 at the Lincoln Memorial that Sandmann, in Washington with other Covington Catholic High School students for the March for Life rally, was shown face to face with a Native American activist, Nathan Phillips, who was at the Lincoln Memorial for the Indigenous People’s March. Social media users quickly pounced on the clips, with many concluding that it showed Sandmann trying to intimidate Phillips.
Sandmann has been busy with things other than the courtroom. It didn’t get quite enough attention but when Kyle Rittenhouse was going through his own melody of mistreatment by the media, Sandmann went on Hannity and offered his own thoughts.
“It’s terrible, Sean … As a 17-year-old in Kyle’s case and mine 16, your mind is still developing. So to deal with an overload of stress where you have this feeling that half of the country; hundreds of millions of people; hate you for something that you are innocent of – but how you are painted can do a lot to you mentally,” he said. “It takes a very strong will to be able to resist that and keep a level head. I think that Kyle Rittenhouse is dealing with that right now.”
