Judge blocks former NFL player’s First Amendment lawsuit

Police trespassed Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp after a “disruption” of a city council meeting.TAMPA (CN) — A federal judge on Thursday tossed a First Amendment challenge brought by former NFL player Warren Sapp against the city of Tampa over his trespass from city hall last month.Sapp, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle, says he visited the municipal building on Sept. 17 to pick up paperwork from an office adjacent to the city council chambers, which was in session.While Sapp was in the building, city officials interrupted their meeting, locked the chamber’s doors and called the police, who trespassed him from the premises. He was not arrested.A video of the proceedings shows city council chair Alan Clendenin interrupting the meeting over a commotion outside the chambers and leaving for a few minutes. Upon returning, he directed a staff member to lock the doors.“I am ruling the folks that are in our offices that are being disruptive to city council procedures out of order,” Clendenin said. “I have asked them to leave the premises, and they have refused to leave the premises.”Sapp, 53, sued the city a week later.“The First Amendment does not permit a municipality to transform disagreement, irritation, criticism, anticipated expression or an unwanted citizen’s presence in a public governmental forum into grounds for official retaliation,” Sapp said in the lawsuit. “By invoking municipal authority to exclude plaintiff from city hall and interfere with his ability to access and petition his local government, the city crossed a constitutional line.”But in his order, U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber said Sapp’s grievances are too vague.“For example, the complaint alleges that plaintiff entered city hall to obtain ‘paperwork,’ but is generally seeking ‘paperwork’ protected by the First Amendment?” wrote Barber, a Donald Trump appointee. “The complaint does not provide enough information to answer that question. Plaintiff does not identify what paperwork he sought or from whom. Nor does he explain whether he was requesting public records, petitioning a government official or communicating about some other matter.”“Merely labeling conduct as protected by the First Amendment does not make it so,” the judge added.Sapp’s attorney, Anthony F. Sabatini of the Sabatini Law Firm, did not respond to a request for comment. The city attorney’s office also did not respond, but previously said the city does not comment on pending litigation.In a post on Instagram, Sapp released a partial video of the interaction once the city council chair entered the adjacent office.“Get out,” Clendenin told Sapp. “I am ordering you to leave.”“I’m refusing your request,” Sapp responded.A police officer moved in front of Sapp and reiterated that the council chair asked him to leave.“Relax yourself, you’ll be alright,” Sapp said and told the officer to keep his voice down while he calls the assistant chief of police.After more officers arrived, Sapp left.In a radio interview days after the incident, Sapp said he was at the office to obtain public records relating to a previous confrontation with government officials.In February, Sapp and two other men went to another municipal office to access code enforcement documents while recording their interactions. According to police, they did not sign in when requested, and an officer responded to complaints from employees. The men initially left but returned minutes later and police trespassed them.In May, Sapp entered a restricted area of a city hall in Hollywood, Florida with a camera and ended up with a misdemeanor charge of “interference with city employees in the performance of official duties.”In Thursday’s order, the judge partially sided with Sapp that city officials cannot arbitrarily claim a person is causing a “disorder” to violate free speech rights.“At this stage, the court cannot simply accept the city’s characterization of plaintiff’s conduct as disruptive,” Barber wrote. “And the city’s authority to maintain order during public meetings does not give it unlimited authority to punish protected speech.”Sapp has an opportunity to amend his complaint to continue the lawsuit.Sapp played professional football for 13 seasons, mostly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads