Sacramento Kings player Richaun Holmes sues ex-wife, The Bee’s owner in defamation case

Sacramento Kings player Richaun Holmes has filed a defamation suit against The McClatchy Co., Sacramento Bee opinion writer Robin Epley and Holmes’ ex-wife, alleging that a series of stories about a custody dispute between Holmes and his former wife contained false statements that damaged his reputation and caused him emotional harm.

The 28-page lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, seeks punitive and other damages for “damage to his reputation; damage to his personal brand, and goodwill in the community as a player for the Kings and in the NBA generally...”

“This is a case about journalism at its worst,” Holmes’ lawyers, the Brown Rudnick law firm of New York, say in the filing. The suit accuses The Bee and Epley — a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her work as part of the Chico Enterprise-Record’s coverage of the Camp Fire — of “clinging to, and cashing in on, a false narrative, steeped in harmful racial stereotypes, in the face of mounting evidence that their chosen narrative was blatantly untrue.”

The suit, which was reviewed by The Bee, alleges that Holmes’ ex-wife, Allexis Holmes, “attempted to turn the tides in her custody dispute with the Plaintiff by falsely claiming that he was abusive to her and her son.”

The suit also alleges that Epley “amplified and endorsed Ms. Holmes’ false claims despite ample reasons to doubt Ms. Holmes’ credibility, including publicly-available court filings and orders contradicting Ms. Holmes’ claims.”

Karl Olson, an attorney for The Bee, said the Holmes reports are “a combination of fair and true reporting of judicial proceedings and opinion.”

Allexis Holmes learned of the lawsuit Thursday from a Bee reporter calling for comment. She said she stands by her claims that Holmes physically abused their 6-year-old son.

“I know the truth, and so does he,” she said. “I can’t wait for our first date in court.”

The lawsuit stems from a series of columns and stories in The Bee between March and May 2022 that began after the Kings announced on March 18 that Holmes would miss the remainder of the season for personal reasons.

The lawsuit alleges that Epley “saw an opportunity — to ‘break’ and get the ‘inside scoop’ on the reason for Richaun’s departure, to increase her footprint at The Bee, and to add her voice to the ongoing conversation in the public zeitgeist about the shortcomings in how American institutions handle domestic violence allegations.”

The lawsuit alleges that The Bee “picked a side in this battle” and portrayed Richaun Holmes as an abuser and his ex-wife as a victim. The suit also says that after Richaun Holmes sought sole custody of their son, Allexis Holmes “suddenly sought a domestic violence restraining order (“DVRO”) and started making the false claim that Plaintiff was abusive to her and her son.

“Ms. Holmes’ request for the DVRO and claims of abuse were ultimately rejected by the Los Angeles Superior Court.”

Epley’s columns relied on information from court documents and hearings, interviews with Allexis Holmes and comments from Richaun Holmes’ attorney, who described him as an “exemplary parent” and denied Allexis Holmes’ allegations.

Epley also included tweets from Holmes after her first column appeared in print. He later deleted those tweets.

Richaun Holmes now has full custody of their son, and “is now thriving and healthy,” the lawsuit says.

The suit also says Richaun Holmes “stands ready and willing to facilitate contact” with the son and his mother but that “Ms. Holmes has reached out to her son only twice – once on his most recent birthday, and once on Mother’s Day.”

“Otherwise, she has ignored him, even on Christmas,” the suit says.

This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 11:41 AM.