Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has filed a defamation lawsuit against 18 unnamed individuals who he says posted untrue comments online accusing him of having an affair with a female sports reporter.

The law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP filed the suit on Friday in B.C. Supreme Court.

According to the notice of civil claim, the comments “were understood to mean that” Burke “had a sexual relationship with the Rogers Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae; and the plaintiff is the father of Hazel Mae’s child.

“Both of these meanings are false and defamatory,” the suit says.

The suit names the defendants by the pseudonyms they used to post their comments, such as “Nofixedaddress,” “Slobberface,” and “Ncognito.” The suit says the comments were posted in online bulletin boards and then commented on and shared through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The suit includes examples of the comments, such as, “Scandal, you say? Well yessirr…The father could have been any number of worthy candidates, but the lucky dad is, in fact, our very own Brian Burke.”

In a statement, Burke’s lawyer, Peter Gall, said his client wants to hold anonymous users accountable for the comments they post online.

“Brian is a public figure, so is the sports reporter, and so it’s very damaging to both of their reputations, both of their careers and damaging to their families that people might believe that something like this happened when it didn’t happen,” Gall told CP24 in a telephone interview. “It’s completely untrue.”

Gall added that his client “just got angry generally at the fact that people feel they can say anything they want with impunity on the internet, and that they’re not going to be held accountable.  And he’s just bound and determined to get this point across, that you are going to be held accountable.”

Iain MacKinnon, legal counsel for Mae, said in a statement that his client “fully supports the lawsuit brought forth by Mr. Burke and feels strongly that people should be held accountable for writing and spreading malicious lies over the Internet.”

He said Mae is still considering “all of her legal options,” and won’t be commenting further on the case.  

Burke’s suit seeks an injunction restraining each defendant from publishing the statements online, as well as general, special, and aggravated and punitive damages.

Statements of defence have not yet been filed in the case, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

In January, Burke was fired by the Maple Leafs and he now works as a part-time scout for the Anaheim Ducks.