Did they have to mention Montana that many times!!

[mslacat]

And now a break from seriuos schtuff, and time to hear from our favarite son latest adventures, Evel Knievel vrs. ESPN

Site Wins Right to Dub Famed Stuntman 'Pimp'
ReutersReuters

Jan 4, 2005 — By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel cannot sue a Web site that published a photo of him with two women above a caption reading "You're never too old to be a pimp," a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The term "pimp" was probably intended as a compliment, the court said. But Knievel said, "What good is law in the United States of America if five or six goddamn bimbos are going to rule against it?"

The Montana native sued after ESPN, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co., published a photo of the famed stunt driver at the Action Sports and Music Awards in 2001 with his arms around his wife and a second young woman.
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The photo on the EXPN.com Web site ran alongside that of other people with captions that, in the words of a lower court ruling, "contained loose, figurative, slang language."

The motorcycle rider, who gained notoriety jumping over rows of buses, trucks and other barriers in the 1960s and 1970s, sued, alleging the photo brought him and his wife "public disgrace and scandal."

After a Montana district court dismissed the case at the request of ESPN, Knievel appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco.

"Although the word 'pimp' may be reasonably capable of defamatory meaning when read in isolation, we agree with the district court's assessment that 'the term loses its meaning when considered in the context presented here,"' Judge Wallace Tashima wrote for the three-judge panel.

"The term 'pimp' as used on the EXPN.com Web site was not intended as a criminal accusation, nor was it reasonably susceptible to such a literal interpretation. Ironically, it was most likely intended as a compliment."

In a dissent that quoted William Shakespeare, Judge Carlos Bea backed Knievel. "Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls," he wrote, quoting Shakespeare's Iago.

Then in his own voice, Bea wrote, "In my view, the word 'pimp' is reasonably susceptible to a defamatory meaning."

Informed of the decision by a telephone call to his home in Clearwater, Florida, Knievel responded angrily.

"They disregarded the goddamn law and they ought to be discharged, they ought to be ashamed of themselves," he told Reuters. "They ruled against the law. What good is law in the United States of America if five or six goddamn bimbos are going to rule against it?"

Knievel, 66, added that he would ask his lawyer to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Site Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wi ... ?id=383802

[SonomaCat]

This is kind of interesting to me on a personal level. One of the short stories that I am in the process of submitting for publication is called "Evel" and makes a reference to a guy named "Evel" that the child main character sees jumping a motorcycle on TV. The full name is never used or anything, but one might jump to some wild conclusions. I'm sure Evel himself wouldn't care, but now I'm a little nervous that any potential publishers would shy away from printing anything that relates to him at all, given his present lawsuit.

It's my best story, too... and he really ties the story together.

[mslacat]

Change the name to "Pimpevel" I am sure no one would notice.

[velochat]

or bimboevel

I'm pretty sure, in literature, you can say just about anything you want, just so it's clear it's fiction, particularly if it involves the name of a public figure. Ever seen a tabloid? They don't even state that they are fiction. Satire is part of free speech; and how can you satirize someone who's whole image is a "humorous anecdote", anyway.

"Mr. Knievel" is always entertaining.

[SonomaCat]

or bimboevel

I'm pretty sure, in literature, you can say just about anything you want, just so it's clear it's fiction, particularly if it involves the name of a public figure. Ever seen a tabloid? They don't even state that they are fiction. Satire is part of free speech; and how can you satirize someone who's whole image is a "humorous anecdote", anyway.

"Mr. Knievel" is always entertaining.

In my story, he's actually kind of a heroic metaphor, so it should actually be flattering.

[raincat]

BAC: Get the old disclaimer in there..."any similarities between characters in this article and persons living or dead, or anywhere in between with or without their own liver is purely ACCIDENTAL!"