An Illinois wrestling officiant can’t proceed with defamation claims against Texas-based sports media employees who allegedly made posts on social media that took issue with video footage of youth wrestlers that ended up on vulgar websites, a federal judge recently ruled.
U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois granted a motion to dismiss the claims lodged against the livestreaming sports service, FloSports, and two of its employees, Christian Pyles and Jon Kozak. The defendants, all backed by attorneys with Blank Rome in Chicago, claimed the court lacked personal jurisdiction over defamation claims brought by an Illinois plaintiff, Nima Gharavi, in March 2024. Gharavi claimed the defendants led an effort to defame him in social media posts after footage he shared from youth wrestling matches allegedly showed up on pornographic websites, the opinion said.