Jurisprudence

The Supreme Court left intact a ruling that forces the Lexington (Ky). Herald-Leader to defend itself against libel allegations by Reggie Warford, a former assistant basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

In October of 1985, the newspaper published a series of articles on the recruiting of student athletes by major universities and colleges. Edited versions of the series were republished by the newspaper in a special “NCAA reprint” in January of 1986 for members of the NCAA and various media outlets.

Warford, who at the time was an assistant at Pitt, sued the newspaper because of two references to him in the 1986 reprint in which he was accused of offering a recruit money to attend Pitt.