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Former UCLA player Reeves Nelson’s lawsuit is thrown out of court

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Former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson’s lawsuit against Sports Illustrated and reporter George Dohrmann was thrown out of court Wednesday.

Nelson filed a defamation lawsuit against Time Inc., Sports Illustrated’s parent company, in May over an article that portrayed Nelson as a bully who had had tried to injure teammates at times. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy ruled that the suit infringed on freedom of speech rights for the magazine and writer.

She also found that Dohrmann had numerous sources to back up the facts in the article.

Nelson was thrown off the UCLA team in December. He had been seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

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chris.foster@latimes.com

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