Singh to Get Day in Court


Judge Eileen Bransten of New York State Supreme Court has ruled that Vijay Singh will get his day in court with the PGA Tour.

In her 27-page order issued February 13, Judge Bransten dismissed only five of the seven elements of the Tour's motion to halt the lawsuit, meaning that the case can head for trial.

Singh sued the Tour last May - the day before the Players Championship, claiming it exposed him to "public humiliation and ridicule" during its investigation and subsequent suspension for him saying in a Sports Illustrated article that he took deer antler spray, which was believed to contained a banned substance, IGF-1.

Later in the appeals process, the Tour dropped the case and suspension after the World Anti-Doping Agency said deer antler spray was not a concern.

Agreeing with the Tour's argument that Singh had to abide by its anti-doping policy after signing on as a Tour member, Judge Bransten also allowed that he was treated differently than other players under the Tour's anti-doping policy, thus giving merit to his claim.

"This is a big win," said Singh's attorney, Peter Ginsberg. "The cornerstone of our lawsuit is that the PGA Tour violated in covenant to treat Vijay fairly, and the court has allowed us to proceed with that claim."

Ginsberg didn't comment on whether there's been discussion with the Tour over a settlement, and PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said he won't comment on pending legal matters.

Perhaps more far-reaching is that the Singh's legal team can demand the Tour provide evidence of other anti-doping actions imposed on other players.

"So far the Tour has put up a roadblock and failed to produce anything," Ginsberg added. "The court has made it clear that the PGA has to satisfy our requests. We'll go through discover, and we expect to go all the way through with this."

"We believe this is a victory for Mr. Singh and all PGA Tour players," said another member of Singh's legal team, Jeff Rosenblum, of Rosenblum & Reisman in Memphis, Tenn.