Peter Thiel's Lawyer Is Now Going After Gawker's Deadspin

R.J. Bell, founder of the Las Vegas betting website Pregame.com and subject of an investigative article published by Gawker Media blog Deadspin, has hired Peter Thiel’s lawyer to demand that the website retract the piece.

Titled “How America’s Favorite Sports Betting Expert Turned a Sucker’s Game Into an Industry,” the post takes a look at questionable practices within the sports betting industry. But in a nine-page retraction and apology demand sent to Deadspin, attorney Charles Harder — representing Bell — claims that there are at least four factual inaccuracies in the story, including a misrepresentation of Pregame’s financial dealings with online sportsbooks.

The demand also states that in written communications between the article’s author, Ryan Goldberg, and Bell, Goldberg had “ignored a great deal of the information that Bell provided him.”

Also Read: Gawker Says Peter Thiel's Lawyer Threatened Lawsuit Over Article About Trump's Hair

The letter demands that Goldberg and Deadspin “immediately publish a full, fair and conspicuous retraction, correction and apology as to each false and defamatory statement in the Story.”

In Gawker Media’s official response published last Friday, Deadspin refuted the claims of factual inaccuracy listed in the demand.

“You curiously appear to claim that records taken from your client’s website are somehow false. While we understand that you would have had us perform the calculations differently, in ways that we believe would be inaccurate, those calculations were transparently included in the story and expressly used conservative numbers so that results were not unfair to your client,” the response said.

Also Read: Peter Thiel Remains on Facebook Board After Mark Zuckerberg Vote

Gawker’s response also pointed out that Bell would not go on the record for an interview, and that “information relevant to the article” had been taken down from Pregame’s website after the reporter reached out to Bell.

Though it remains unclear whether or not Thiel is involved in the dispute through Harder, the Silicon Valley billionaire has made clear his campaign against Gawker Media, funding a number of lawsuits — including Hulk Hogan‘s case over a sex tape published by the site in 2012 — against the company.

Hulk Hogan Timeline: From Hulkamania to Gawker Sex Tape Trial (Photos)

Hulk Hogan was born Terry Bolea and attended high school in Tampa, Fla.
Thomas Richard Robinson High School
Hogan broke into the wrestling business in the late 1970's, working under names like Terry Boulder.
WWE
Hogan and his 24-inch pythons ran wild when Hulkamania swept the globe in the 1980's.
WWE
Hogan shocked the world when he bodyslammed the 520-pound Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III.
WWE
Hogan's movie debut was in "Rocky III" as Thunderlips, a wrestler Rocky takes on at a charity event.
MGM
Hogan later starred alongside Christopher Lloyd in "Suburban Commando," one of many critical and commercial bombs Hogan was involved in.
New Line
Hogan admitted to taking steroids while testifying during a federal trial against WWF owner Vince McMahon. Hogan denied McMahon supplied or forced him to take the steroids, resulting in McMahon's acquittal.
WWE
Hogan left WWF and competed in WCW from 1994 to 2000. While there, he teamed with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the infamous New World Order.
WWE
Hogan returned to WWF in 2002 and faced off against The Rock at Wrestlemania X8.
WWE
Hogan starred in "Hogan Knows Best," a reality show with his family, from 2005 to 2007. The show was abruptly cancelled after Hogan's wife, Linda Claridge, filed for divorce when she discovered Hogan cheated on her during filming.
VH1
A few months prior to the divorce, Hogan was harshly criticized after his son was sent to jail for reckless driving that left a friend with irreversible brain damage. Tapes released by local police revealed Hogan and his son blaming the victim during a phone call and planning to capitalize on the crash with a reality TV deal.
Clearwater PD
Hogan moved to TNA Wrestling in 2010, immediately becoming a major character in the promotion. He returned to WWE in 2014.
TNA
A clip from a sex tape featuring Hogan and Heather Clem, ex-wife of Bubba The Love Sponge, is published on Gawker in October 2012.
Getty Images
After returning to WWF, now called WWE, in 2014, Hogan was fired in July 2015 after a racist rant from his sex tapes was released by the National Enquirer.
WWE
On March 7, the trial between Hogan and Gawker began. Hogan is suing Gawker for $100 million in damages, accusing the outlet of invasion of privacy.
AP
On March 18, Hogan was awarded $115 million (more than the amount he was seeking) after a ten-day trial and less than a day of deliberation by the jury.
Getty Images