The publisher of Oklahoma's largest newspaper and one of its sportswriters have sued a Nebraska fan over a fake news article about two Oklahoma football players.

The Oklahoma Publishing Company filed a civil lawsuit Monday against James Conradt. Conradt is a Nebraska football fan who works as a service manager for the University of Texas' information technology department.

The 10-count civil lawsuit accuses Conradt of libel, copyright violations and trademark infringements. It seeks unspecified financial damages.

The 36-year-old Conradt used a template from the newspaper's Web site to publish a fake article on the Internet on July 9.

The bogus article said that two Oklahoma quarterbacks -- Sam Bradford and Landry Jones -- had been arrested on cocaine charges.

The fake article appeared on Conradt's fan site and later on an online message board.

Conradt’s Web site has been taken down and replaced by a simple message apologizing for the hoax.

“There was a fake news story posted for a few hours Wedensday at this location that was intended to be a joke about Oklahoma football,” the message reads. “A link to this site was posted on a Husker fan discussion board. I have decided to take down my entire Husker site.

“I am sorry for any trouble this has caused.”