'Real Sports,' HBO sued for libel

NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Mitre Sports International is suing HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" in New York over child-labor allegations the show made against the company.

Mitre Sports International is a sporting-goods company and well-known soccer-ball manufacturer.

Gumbel's cable-TV program aired a Sept. 16 report that said Mitre forces children in India to work long hours under horrible conditions, stitching soccer balls for little pay.

The New York Post said the company hit back at the report by filing a libel lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. Mitre stated it has video interviews with the parents of the children featured on the program, admitting the youngsters actually weren't factory employees and saying they were offered cash or fame to lie on television.

"The show that was presented to tens of millions of people was a hoax and a hatchet job," Mitre lawyer Lloyd Constantine said in the complaint filed Oct. 23.

Constantine said the "Real Sports" report resulted in a loss of "tens of millions of dollars" for the company since Wal-Mart and Modell's Sporting Goods immediately yanked its soccer balls from their shelves.

The Post said HBO declined to comment on its story, citing the pending litigation.