RELATIVES NOW SUING ESPN FOR DIGGING UP THE GIPPER: Relatives aren’t digging the way the Gipper’s been treated latetly, so a couple of cousins have filed a lawsuit:

The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that Karl & Ronald Gipp, cousins of famed Notre Dame star George Gipp, have filed the suit against another relative, a sports writer, and ESPN.Rick Frueh, a grand-nephew of Gipp, and author Mike Bynum arranged for Gipp’s body to be dug up and have his DNA tested, in order to settle claims of a woman believing she was also related to Gipp.

Bymun told ESPN about the dig, and the network sent a camera crew to tape the proceedings.The cousins claim the exhumation caused “extreme shock, fright, humiliation and mortification” for other relatives, and the dig itself was an act of “willful and wanton misconduct.” They’re seeking $25,000 in damages.

The Worldwide Leader was filming scenes of the dig for their investigative series, “E:60″. The network hasn’t said when or if they would air the footage.

Bynum dismisses claims that the dig was done for “promises of future benefits and royalties“, instead calling the cousins’ lawsuit “an old-fashioned money grab.”