Freddie Freeman’s ex-agent claims Doug Gottlieb tweet has resulted in death threats

While Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman appears to have shaken off his post-Atlanta return doldrums, his former agent Casey Close remains in hot water despite leading a recent revenge charge.

Close was dismissed by Freeman’s camp several weeks back, resulting in an ill-advised (and possibly ill-informed) statement by sports radio personality Doug Gottlieb, who essentially accused the agent of negligence/steering his client away from what he desired most.

Close, predictably, did not take well to the assertion that he halted a Freeman-Braves marriage, and snapped back at Gottlieb with a libel lawsuit, published publicly on July 14. And so, the No. 1 rule of sports media is back in play: Don’t tweet unless you’re 1,000% sure a Super Agent isn’t about to take you to the cleaners.

For Close, it’s simple. His world was rocked the second Gottlieb went public with an assertion that he believes to be categorically false. He thinks Gottlieb did unnecessary and undue damage to his reputation, predicated on a lie — and for someone who lost both Trevor Story and Freeman in recent months after their free agency cycles, saving face is paramount right now.

For Gottlieb? His lawyers may be able to protect him from damages if they can prove one thing: that Close counts as a public figure.

Doug Gottlieb must prove Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman’s ex-agent Casey Close is public figure in libel case

How … exactly does that work if the statement is still proven to be a lie? It doesn’t. Gottlieb’s most important defense is still proving the absolute truth of his tweet. If Close can wriggle out of that one, the radio personality could certainly be toast. Where are the receipts on Freeman’s offers from Atlanta? Now’s the time to open up those emails!

It’s no grand shock the internet turned vitriolic towards Close at the drop of a hat, though, considering how venomous Braves-Dodgers has been for quite a while. Within minutes of the narrative blame swinging onto the agent’s side, he was reportedly receiving death threats from “apparent” Braves fans, cited in the libel suit.

If Close is deemed to be a “public figure” who should be used to abuse, and if Gottlieb’s accusation is somehow proven true, this will be an entirely different ballgame.

For now, though, the shock jock is still playing defense.

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