Jury clears ex-wrestler CM Punk in defamation lawsuit
FILE – CM Punk reacts to his loss to Mickey Gall during the UFC 203 event at Quicken Loans Arena on September 10, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. Rey Del Rio/Getty Images/AFP
CHICAGO — Jurors have cleared former World Wrestling Entertainment champ CM Punk of defamation and invasion of privacy in a lawsuit brought by a wrestling doctor.
Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, hugged his wife, former WWE star A.J. Lee., as the panel in Chicago delivered its verdict on Tuesday.
WWE doctor Christopher Amann had sued Brooks over comments that he made in a podcast in 2014 in which he criticized WWE doctors for failing to diagnose a lump that was a staph infection. Fellow wrestler Colt Cabana hosted the podcast and also was cleared.
Amann claimed he’d never been shown the lump.
Brooks’ lawyer said her client did not lie.
Brooks is now an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, and the 39-year-old has a mixed martial arts bout Saturday against Mike Jackson.
