Jury awards $25M to man who sued Oklahoma’s largest newspaper after being mistakenly named in report

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma jury has awarded a man $25 million after finding that the state’s largest newspaper defamed him. The jury in Muskogee County jury ruled in favor of broadcast announcer Scott Sapulpa in his defamation lawsuit against The Oklahoman newspaper and its parent company, Gannett. The jury found the newspaper improperly identified Sapulpa as the announcer who made racist comments during the broadcast of a girls’ basketball game in 2021. The jury awarded $5 million in actual damages and another $20 million in punitive damages. An attorney for Gannett says they plan to appeal the award.