Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
Phil Mickelson has had his share of problems on the golf course, but the veteran golfer's latest issues are coming off the green. The man better known as Lefty is suing an internet service provider in Canada as he tries to track down the identity of a commenter who is writing on Yahoo! that Mickelson's wife was involved in an affair as well as alleging Mickelson himself is the father of an illegitimate child.
It isn't a writer employed by Yahoo! Sports, mind you, but instead someone posting comments under the pseudonyms of Fogroller and Longitude. Considering the anonymity of the internet isn't easy to get around, Mickelson's had to sue the commenter(s?) internet service provider in an attempt to find the person making "vexatious statements" about the professional golfer's family.
"I'm all for freedom of speech, but I won't tolerate defamation," Mickelson said Thursday after his opening round in the Phoenix Open.
According to the suit filed on Jan. 25, Mickelson "is asking the court to force Videotron to identify the person so Mickelson can stop the dissemination of false and wrongful statements ... and obtain reparation for the prejudice already suffered."
It'll be interesting to see how everything turns out because, if Mickelson's successful in his pursuit, there are likely quite a few other athletes ... and celebrities for that matter ... that could come out money ahead as they take internet commenters to task.
It'd also, likely, make the internet a nicer place.
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