George "The Gipper" Gipp lawsuit clarification

The following is an email I received about my recent blog post, Michigan Court tells Gipp relatives they can't "Win one for the Gipper.": 

"I read your recent blog on the internet about the George Gipp DNA court fight.

I was one of the 8 defendants in the Gipp lawsuit you wrote about. Your story was very balanced, however, I need to correct 2 of your facts.

One, ESPN was invited there to document this as a news story for both ESPN and ABC-TV. There were only 3 cameras there -- not 8 as you note in your story. Because this was such a unique story, the Gipp family felt it was important to invite a very credible news organization to document what was happening.

Second, the Gipp distant cousins' lawsuit was simply about money. They wanted a pile of it. If you get into the actual facts of this lawsuit and then see the history of the plaintiffs' attorney my point will all make much more sense.

The primary purpose of the immediate Gipp family in getting George Gipp's DNA was to either prove or disprove the story of the two ladies from Indiana. And if it was proven that they truly were George Gipp's granddaughters, the immediate Gipp family wanted to embrace these 2 ladies from Indiana, but if the test proved that there was no DNA link, then the immediate Gipp family wanted at least to put an end to the rumors.

 

When faced with this situation, there were no easy choices here -- only a commitment to help these 2 ladies find out if George Gipp was their actual grandfather.

 

When my book comes out on this story you will see that I eventually found the grandfather of the 2 ladies from Indiana. And that search turned up an answer that is more bizarre than the Gipp exhumation.

 

I hope this information helps!

 

Mike Bynum"

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ brmmlaw.com.

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