Stockton, others file lawsuit against Washington AG office

Basketball legend John Stockton has taken his disdain for COVID-19 restrictions to a federal courtroom, initiating a lawsuit with other plaintiffs against the Washington State Office of the Attorney General over pandemic rules that restrict doctors from speaking against “the mainstream Covid narrative.”

Already a vocal critic of COVID-19 restrictions, the Basketball Hall of Fame point guard, along with several doctors who have faced state sanctions, filed the suit Thursday.

Among those involved are Clarkston-based attorney Todd Richardson and retired ophthalmologist Dr. Richard Eggleston, of Clarkston.

The lawsuit leaves room for dozens of unidentified physicians believed to have also been warned over their COVID-19 speech. Rick Jaffe, one of Stockton’s attorneys on the case, said it’s ultimately about free speech.

“The only thing we’re interested in is the First Amendment issue,” Jaffe said. “Does the medical board have the constitutional authority to investigate, prosecute and sanction doctors for writing articles, posting blogs on websites and speaking out in public, even if the government or the medical board thinks what they’re saying is wrong or dangerous?”

Besides Jaffe and Richardson, the plaintiffs are also represented by presidential candidate and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. The younger Kennedy is known for his controversial anti-vaccine views.

Eggleston faced charges of unprofessional conduct from the Washington Medical Commission after he wrote opinion pieces about COVID-19 treatments that ran in the Lewiston Tribune. The charges carried the possibility of Eggleston losing his medical license and facing a fine. Eggleston is appealing a denial of his motion for a preliminary injunction in the case.

Eggleston told the Tribune on Tuesday that he was happy to join Stockton and others in the lawsuit.

“I’m very pleased that people who are not medical professionals understand the implications of being deprived of important information to make an informed decision for the care of themselves or their families,” Eggleston said in an email. “Never before have restrictions been placed on the right of doctors to publicly voice opinions and help people have full access to such important information. If government can control something as personal as medical care, then everything in our lives can be controlled and is at risk.”

When Eggleston faced scrutiny from the medical commission, he was represented by Richardson, who defended him for what he calls the “over-weaning government that was hell-bent on asserting their authority and silencing the opposition.”

Jaffe said the state indicated it would sanction doctors who spread COVID-19 misinformation starting in September 2021, following guidance from the Federation of State Medical Boards.

“Most other states in the country don’t go as far as Washington. In my view, Washington is an outlier,” he said.

Other parties suing include Dr. Thomas T. Siler and Dr. Thomas Moynihan, as well as a nonprofit, the Children’s Health Defense.

Jaffe said he has represented other cases on the same issue in California, where a judge ordered a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of the speech restrictions.

While the suit centers around doctors’ rights, Jaffe said Stockton got involved because of his own views.

“Stockton has his podcast, he has guests on there, he has an interest, and I think that, you know, he, in a certain sense, can speak to the public,” Jaffe said.

The suit asks for a declaration that the state’s policy violates the First Amendment, a preliminary and permanent injunction on the policy and a declaration that the state’s position “violates the substantive procedural due process rights of Washington licensed physicians,” as well as attorneys’ fees and “other such further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

Eggleston said he thinks his First Amendment rights were “abridged,” but “as important the right to freedom of speech is, it is the patients’ right to hear differing opinions that may be more important. How can a patient give informed consent for any treatment or procedure if they are not provided with the necessary information to make a decision?”

Jaffe pointed out how the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its stances on COVID-19 multiple times. He said gagging doctors from sharing their own views on the virus is “really hurting the public in a time of great uncertainty.”

The AG’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

This isn’t the first time Stockton has taken a defiant stance on COVID-19 restrictions. The Gonzaga University alum was once suspended from attending basketball games at his alma mater after he refused to wear a face mask.