CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Premier Basketball League (PBL) is pleased to announce it has finalized a settlement with KMGZ-Magic 95 Radio regarding unfounded and defamatory claims of alleged misconduct in calling fouls made by a radio announcer during a live broadcast of the PBL Championship Game played in Lawton, Oklahoma on April 18, 2011 between the Lawton Fort Sill Calvary and the Rochester RazorSharks.
The settlement includes payment by KMGZ-Magic 95 radio to the Premier Basketball League of an undisclosed sum, and issuance of a letter of apology by KMGZ-Magic 95 to the Premier Basketball League, game officials, players and its listening public.
KMGZ-Magic 95's letter of apology, which can be viewed on the PBL website, the Rochester RazorSharks website, and is required to be posted on the KMGZ – Magic 95 website for one year, confirms that there is no objective evidence to support the announcer's defamatory claims and that Chris Needham, the play-by-play announcer who made the offending statements, was not an independent sportscaster employed by KMGZ-Magic 95 but, rather, was a direct employee of the Lawton Fort Sill Calvary, who ultimately lost the championship game. The offensive and defamatory comments made by the Calvary's announcer in no way reflect the view of radio station KMGZ-Magic 95.
The Premier Basketball League (PBL) logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11424