The head of school at Heritage Academy is suing a local podcaster for slander and libel.
In a civil complaint filed in February in Lowndes County Circuit Court, Sean Harrison claims that Shannon Evans made false, defamatory and injurious statements against him on social media and on Evans’ podcast, “Tombigbee Tales.” Those statements and posts were made in “reckless disregard to their truth or falsity and/or with malice” and “forever falsely taint and permanently damage” his personal and business reputation, the complaint reads.
It also lists 10 unnamed “John Does” as codefendants.
A civil complaint represents one side of a legal argument. Slander is a false and defamatory statement made orally. A libel claim means that statement was written.
The complaint alleges Evans, in a podcast episode recorded on or around Nov. 22, “stated and/or implied” that Harrison had an extramarital affair with the high school principal at Heritage. Evans then posted those statements to social media.
In a subsequent episode recorded on or around Dec. 16, Evans “stated and/or implied” that Harrison consumed alcohol with student-athletes and drank in his office during school hours, the complaint reads.
Harrison, in his complaint, denies the affair and drinking allegations, adding the damage he has sustained from Evans’ statements “is extensive, ongoing and irreparable.”
In addition to injury to personal and business reputation through slander and libel, the complaint lists four other claims for relief – slander/libel by implication, libel-reckless disregard/malice, publicly placing plaintiff in false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Harrison is asking for compensatory damages, as well as a “just” amount in punitive damages for Evans’ “wanton and willful conduct.”
Harrison joined the Heritage staff in 2016 and served as football coach, athletic director and high school principal before becoming head of school in April 2022.
Evans, a former teacher at Heritage, has recorded more than 500 episodes of her podcast since starting it more than a year ago. Its topics range from Columbus history and current events to criticisms of local organizations, such as Heritage Academy, the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau and Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation.
When reached by The Dispatch, Evans would not comment on the lawsuit. She was served the complaint Thursday, according to court records, and has not yet filed a formal response with the court.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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