Andrew Rector, the Yankees fan who sued ESPN, MLB and the team earlier this month for $10 million because he was insulted while taking a nap, appeared on the Today Show this morning. He defended his decision to file a lawsuit, but said that he might accept an apology from all those involved.
Rector attended the Yankees’ April 13 game against the Boston Red Sox and the game was nationally televised on ESPN. He had a long day and began nodding off, which was caught on camera. His nap was plastered on TVs and the screens at Yankee Stadium, with ESPN announces Dan Shulman and John Kruk making fun of him.
After letting the nasty YouTube comments rack up for over a month, Rector finally decided to sue ESPN, the team and the MLB. He called Kruk and Shulman’s comments an “avalanche of disparaging words.”
Rector appeared on Today with Matt Lauer, who couldn’t believe that Rector was really following through with the lawsuit.
“Put yourself in my shoes,” Rector told Lauer, notes The Hollywood Reporter. “How would you feel if you were broadcasted on TV all over the media?” He later noted, “I mean, there’s so many derogatory comments about me that was caused by what they did.”
Lauer told him that all the lawsuit did was just get his nap more attention. “How I responded to it might’ve been a spur-of-the-moment thing but at the end of the day, it’s still upsetting what they did,” Rector replied.
As for what he hopes to get out of the lawsuit, he said that he would “possibly” accept an apology from the defendants. He said that he will consult with his lawyer over what to do next.
By the way, when the lawsuit was filed, his napping video only had 500,000 views on YouTube. It is now more than triple that, reaching over 1.5 million.
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