Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is flagging ESPN and its reporter Adam Schefter for posting his private medical records online to millions of readers.
Pierre-Paul, 27, sued ESPN and Schefter in a Florida court Wednesday, citing a violation of his privacy.
The NFL player blew off a finger in a July 4 fireworks mishap and was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, according to his lawyers Mitchell Schuster and Kevin Fritz.
Schefter “improperly obtained” Pierre-Paul’s medical chart showing the defensive end had his right index finger amputated and posting the record on Twitter to nearly 4 million followers, the suit says.
“This action arises out of ESPN reporter Schefter’s blatant disregard for the private and confidential nature of plaintiff’s medical records, all so Schefter could show the world that he had ‘supporting proof’ of a surgical procedure,” the suit says.
Schefter later admitted he “could have and should have done even more to protect [Pierre-Paul’s] medical records,” in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
The reporter said he tweeted the image of the medical record to bolster a story about the surgery.
Schefter, 49, who lives in New York, is a regular contributor to ESPN TV programs like “NFL Insiders,” “Monday Night Countdown” and “SportsCenter.”
Pierre-Paul’s Miami Dade County civil suit, which does not specify money damages, says that while the player’s injury may have been “a matter of legitimate public concern,” the “chart was not.”
A spokesman for ESPN and Schefter declined to comment.