H.S. Basketball Announcer Wrongly Accused of Racist Remarks Awarded $25 Million

After being misidentified by a major newspaper as having made racist remarks during a high school basketball game, an announcer has won a $25 million judgment in court.

Scott Sapulpa, an Oklahoma-based high school basketball announcer, won the verdict Monday—with the court ordering Gannett, the owner of The Oklahoman, to pay him $5 million in actual damages and $20 million in punitive damages.

In March 2021, Sapulpa and Matt Rowan were on the call for a girls’ high school basketball game between Norman and Midwest City High Schools. Norman’s players knelt in protest as the national anthem played pregame, and Rowan launched into an offensive tirade in which he used the n-word.

The Oklahoman picked up the story and misidentified Rowan as Sapulpa. After Rowan admitted he was the one who made the remarks, Sapulpa took the newspaper, Rowan and others to court. 

Per Awful Announcing, Sapulpa's attorneys demonstrated that the mistake had resulted in "administrative leave, a lost teaching contract, plummeting business clientele, death threats, and fractured personal and professional relationships."

A Gannett spokesperson told The New York Post the company intends to appeal the verdict.