This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Former UCLA basketball star Reeves Nelson is suing a Sports Illustrated reporter for writing an article that depicted him as an out-of-control bully who once got revenge on a roommate by peeing on his bed. Now Reeves has hired an attorney to sue the reporter for defamation.
Nelson did end up being booted off the team last December in part because of disciplinary issues, but in the Sports Illustrated article penned by George Dohrmann (a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer), the star basketball player seemed to be a bully above reproach. Dohrmann writes about how he got into tussles on the court that sidelined players. He admitted to them in his comment to the magazine saying: "On all that stuff, I have no trouble admitting that I lost control of my emotions sometimes. I take responsibility for my actions. I'm really just trying to learn from the mistakes I made on all levels."
But in a lawsuit being filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, Nelson's attorney says Dohrmann "recklessly and negligently failed to investigate the claims in the article," according to TMZ.
It's not clear which of the claims he takes issue with except for one report that Nelson peed on the bed and clothing of his roommate and teammate former teammate Tyler Honeycutt. The article says Nelson did it to get back at him, because he thought Honeycutt ratted out the team by telling the coach their big New Year's Eve plans. Nelson told Sports Illustrated, "I would dispute that that is exactly what happened, but I understand people would say that is what happened. But I think, most of all, you should know that Tyler and I are still friends."
Honeycutt now denies the incident ever happened in court papers.
