St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa is not amused about an impersonator using his name on Twitter, the microblogging social networking service. After the impersonator made several off-color comments about two Cardinals players who died recently, La Russa sued Twitter over “significant emotional distress [and] damage to reputation.”
More specifically, La Russa is suing Twitter over claims of trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and misappropriation of likeness and name. La Russa, a popular online figure not only for baseball but also for his work with the Animal Rescue Foundation, claims Twitter allowed the impersonator to do damage to La Russa’s other online entities.
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Twitter removed the page shortly after La Russa filed his lawsuit in May in San Francisco. Twitter’s user agreement discusses the possible penalties for impersonating someone else.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s (Twitter) actions … Plaintiff (La Russa) has suffered significant emotional distress, damage to his reputation and damage to the goodwill of his mark,” states the lawsuit.