Sleeping Yankees Fan Sues TV Announcers, MLB

A Yankees fan has filed a $10 million lawsuit against two ESPN announcers contending they mocked him when he was caught on national television sleeping in his seat during a game at Yankee Stadium.

Andrew Robert Rector admits in court documents he "napped" during a game against the Boston Red Sox on April 13, but says commentators Dan Shulman and John Kruk unleashed an "avalanche of disparaging words" against him. The suit says they used words like "fatty" and "stupid."

On video replays of the incident, the announcers did not use those words, but commenters on a YouTube video of the incident did

Rector says he suffered "substantial injury" to his "character and reputation" and "mental anguish, loss of future income and loss of earning capacity."

The lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court Thursday also names ESPN, Major League Baseball and the Yankees as defendants. They didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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