Fresno State Guard Named in Story Files Libel Suit

Attorneys for Fresno State point guard Dominick Young filed a libel suit Monday against The Fresno Bee over reports that the player is the focus of a point-shaving investigation.

The Fresno Superior Court suit charges that Bee articles falsely accuse Young of criminal activity and that Young “has consorted with illegal bookies, gamblers, criminals and other scoundrels.”

The lawsuit, which seeks $11.2 million in general and punitive damages, said Young has never shaved points nor conspired with anyone else to do so.

Attorney Nicholas Wagner said the suit was filed after McClatchy Newspapers, which owns The Fresno Bee, refused to retract its allegations on grounds that it has reason to believe they are true.

“However, the letter, as did the articles, is devoid of any reliable sources of point shaving, which is really the point here,” Wagner said.

The Bee’s executive editor, J. Keith Moyer, defended the newspaper and said, “The threat of potential litigation has never deterred us from seeking the truth.”