The publisher of an Oklahoma newspaper and one of its sportswriters have sued a University of Texas employee who admitted posting a bogus article on the Internet about two University of Oklahoma football players.
The Oklahoma Publishing Co., which publishes The Oklahoman newspaper and newsok.com Web site, filed a civil lawsuit Monday against James W. Conradt, a Nebraska football fan who works as a service manager for UT's information technology department.
The 10-count civil lawsuit accuses Conradt of libel, copyright violations and trademark infringements. It seeks unspecified financial damages.
Conradt, 36, used a template from the newspaper's Web site to publish a fake article on the Internet on July 9 that stated OU quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Landry Jones had been arrested for intent to distribute cocaine, the lawsuit alleges.
Conradt allegedly put a link to the article on his Web site, www.darthhusker.com, and on an online message board.
The lawsuit claims Conradt used sportswriter Jake Trotter's byline and various OPUBCO trademarks to give the bogus article the appearance of legitimacy.
A telephone message left Tuesday at Conradt's office was not immediately returned, and court records do not indicate if he has hired an attorney.
Conradt's Web site has been taken down and replaced by a simple message apologizing for the hoax.
"There was a fake news story posted for a few hours Wedensday at this location that was intended to be a joke about Oklahoma football," the message reads. "A link to this site was posted on a Husker fan discussion board. I have decided to take down my entire Husker site.
"I am sorry for any trouble this has caused."
Local news
NEW: Newspaper sues Nebraska fan over bogus article
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