The Lions fan Steelers wide receiver D.K. Metcalf confronted and made contact with in a December game has filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against the wide receiver, the Steelers, former NFL wide receiver Chad
Johnson, and several companies, The Detroit Metro Times reported Tuesday. He is also suing Metcalf for assault and battery.
Metcalf was suspended for two regular season games following the altercation by the NFL.
The Metro Times reports that the fan, Ryan Kennedy, says in the lawsuit that he never used any slurs, just Metcalf’s first name and “ordinary crowd jeering,” and that Metcalf initiated the contact.
Kennedy is suing for defamation following claims made by former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson on his “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe following the game. Johnson said that Kennedy both called Metcalf a racial slur and called Metcalf’s mother a derogatory term.
The former receiver said the information came from “a reliable source who wears No. 4” — essentially saying his source was Metcalf himself.
Metcalf has not directly addressed the incident outside of a Q&A session with the Steelers media where he offered limited information.
The Metro Times reports that “Kennedy says he received death threats, harassing voicemails, and hate mail, and that his mortgage-lending business suffered reputational and financial harm” following the claims he used a slur.
Metcalf, as well as the other parties named in the lawsuit, has not yet publicly addressed the filing.
