New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, who in July became the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback in signing a four-year, $120.4 million extension, was awarded nearly $51,636.45 in attorneys’ fees and costs on Wednesday for defending—and defeating—a defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit brought by a Buffalo Bills fan.
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Jonathan W. Romankow issued a final judgment in a case that stemmed from an exchange last year on X between Gardner and Kalli Mariakis, a Bills fan from Biloxi, Miss.
The decision in Gardner’s favor could become a significant ruling for celebrities who use humor, exaggeration and sarcasm that some might find inappropriate when responding to strangers on social media platforms.
On Aug. 21, 2024, Gardner posted a photograph of boxes, a ladder and construction equipment for a golf simulator with the caption, “Do I even have to say what I’m getting built at my new house?” Mariakis replied, “A simulator to teach you how not to commit pass interference or defensive holding.”
The next day Gardner responded to Mariakis’ post by saying, “I’m sure your husband wouldn’t like it if I told him you dm’d (direct messaged) me your OF link would he?” The reference to “OF” was presumably an abbreviation for OnlyFans, an adult content website.
Mariakis replied to Gardner by stating, among other things, “Nice comeback @iamSauceGardner but what a shame it’s a big fat lie!”
Mariakis sued, arguing that the statement damaged her reputation and, since she didn’t have an OnlyFans link, was untrue. She also sued Barstool for writing a story on the exchange.
Mariakis’ complaint, authored by attorney Don Savatta, asserted that in the “days and weeks” that followed, Mariakis and her family “experienced numerous embarrassing moments and harassment from acquaintances, friends, family, co-workers and the public at large, who had either read the tweet or heard about defendant Gardner’s accusation by and through the Barstool publication, and who cast aspersions on Plaintiff and raised questions about her internet activity, especially referencing Plaintiff’s alleged—and nonexistent—OnlyFans account and, in that connection, questioned her character and reputation” as a respectable young woman, wife and mother.
Represented by attorney Benjamin Levine of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Gardner argued there was no defamation. He also maintained the case must be dismissed pursuant to New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP statute, which requires the dismissal of defamation claims when they relate to a topic of public concern and the speech isn’t defamatory.
Gardner, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and two-time First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler, argued the speech at issue was a matter of public interest since the media found it compelling enough to cover. Gardner also maintained the speech was opinion, which cannot give rise to a viable defamation claim. Defamation concerns false statements that are couched as factual and objective. In addition, Gardner argued that he posted on a social media platform, X, where “readers have a reduced expectation of truth.”
Through Levine, Gardner also insisted that even if Gardner’s post could be understood as a statement of fact regarding Mariakis having an OnlyFans account, the exchange was clearly “lighthearted” and amounted to “trolling” between two people and that type of communication falls outside the legal definition of defamation—which concerns factual sounding, but untrue, statements. Along those lines, Gardner pointed out that Mariakis “even responded” to his post “with laughing emojis.”
As an additional argument, Gardner warned of a potentially harmful precedent should a court hold a celebrity liable for defamation in a trolling-type exchange. He argued that permitting the claims against him to move forward would have “a chilling effect on protected speech, particularly interactions between athletes, celebrities, and other notable individuals and their fans on social media.”
In July, Romankow agreed with Gardner (and Barstool) that the case should be dismissed. But while Gardner sought $104,729 in attorneys’ fees from Mariakis, Gardner’s attorneys hourly rates were about 35% higher than attorneys in Morris County, N.J., and warranted a lower figure.
