Clapback and Pay Up?: New Jersey Court Issues $50,000 Attorneys’ Fee Award Against Fan Under Anti-SLAPP Statute

New York Jets Star Cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (“Gardner”) engaged in a back-and-forth exchange with a Buffalo Bills fan (the “Fan”) on X (formerly Twitter) prompting a civil suit for defamation and emotional distress against Gardner. The dispute arose after Gardner posted a picture of boxes, a ladder, and construction equipment for a golf simulator, with the caption, “Do I even have to say what I’m getting built at my new house?” The Fan responded to the tweet saying, “A simulator to teach you how not to commit pass interference or defensive holding.” Gardner then replied to this tweet a