Sharon Yeagle was the Assistant to the Vice President of Students Affairs and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. One of Yeagle’s duties was to help students apply to the Governor’s Fellows Program. The school newspaper published an article describing the university’s success in placing students and included a quote from Yeagle. Under Yeagle’s name in the article was the phrase “Director of Butt Licking.”

Yeagle sued the Collegiate Times for defamation and the trial court dismissed the case ruling that no reasonable person would take the words literally. Yeagle appealed.

Questions:

1. Was the phrase defamatory, or was it deliberate exaggeration that no reasonable person would take literally?

2. Why didn’t the district court allow Yeagle to present her case at trial? Wasn’t she entitled to his day in court?

3. Why does the court look at phrase in the context in which it appeared, from the standpoint of the average reader?

4. What was the context in which they appeared?

5. Why is that important? The photo and caption offended Yeagle.