Found this in John Ross’s Circuit Court review in the Volokh Report (although this is a state court case):
High school football players in Charleston, S.C. have an “innocent ritual” in which they make monkey noises while smashing a watermelon that they have named after a formerly segregated African-American school in the community. Upon learning of this ritual, a local paper describes the players as “racist douchebags.” Actionable defamation? S.C. Court of Appeals: Nope, protected opinion. (Ed.: Alternatively, truth is an absolute defense to defamation.) (via @adamsteinbaugh.)