Shield law under question

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A federal appeals court judge Wednesday questioned why Alabama’s shield law should not protect Sports Illustrated, which is asking that its sources for a story about former Alabama football coach Mike Price remain confidential.

A district judge ruled that Alabama’s law, which allows sources to remain confidential, refers to newspapers but does not specifically mention magazines. Lawyers for Price want the sources named in the coach’s defamation suit over an SI story about his night of drinking at a topless bar in Pensacola, Fla.

Price was 83-78 with five bowl appearances in 14 seasons at Washington State before leaving to take the Alabama job in 2003.

But he was fired after just four months, before coaching a game or signing his contract. Alabama’s president cited drunken behavior after Price’s highly publicized outing at a Florida strip joint in April 2003. Sports Illustrated reported that Price got drunk that night and had “aggressive” sex with strippers.

Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor, one of three judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals hearing the shield law issue, said Wednesday the lower court’s ruling did not define a newspaper. He also listed a broad range of publications that might be considered newspapers, including The New York Times Magazine, The Alabama Baptist and Black & White, a mostly entertainment publication in Birmingham.

Price’s attorney, Stephen Heninger, said several states have shield laws that treat newspapers and magazines differently .

“There is no guarantee that all press will be treated equally,” Heninger told the judges.

Heninger argued that Sports Illustrated should not be considered a newspaper under Alabama’s shield law because “Sports Illustrated calls itself a magazine.”

Price, who is now coach at Texas-El Paso, attended the hearing and said afterward he felt it was important for him to be there.

“I truly feel I was wrongly accused and I will continue to prove the accusation was wrong,” Price said.