Judge dismisses ex-UCLA player's suit

• Tweet

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A California judge Wednesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson against Sports Illustrated.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy ruled Nelson's suit against SI, parent company Time Inc., and senior writer George Dohrmann was without merit and infringed on their free speech rights.

Nelson sued for $10 million in damages after Dohrmann's story, "Not the UCLA Way," appeared in SI in March.

It cited Nelson as a contributing factor in the decline of the once-proud program, portraying him as a chronic troublemaker, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We have stood behind the reporting of our Pulitzer Prize-winning writer since day one," the magazine said in a statement. "We are pleased that after reviewing the case, the court agreed it should be dismissed."

Murphy noted Dohrmann had conducted diligent research on his article, saying, "This man spent a lot of time and talked to a lot of people."

Nelson's attorney declined to comment after the ruling, the Times reported.