FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Listen to Isiah Thomas Lie About His Sexual Harassment Case

Isiah Thomas went on Mike and Mike and started spinning some yarns about his sexual harassment case.

Isiah Thomas was found liable for sexually harassing Anucha Brown Sanders. This is a fact. "A jury ruled today that Isiah Thomas, the coach of the New York Knicks, sexually harassed a former team executive." That's from the first sentence of this New York Times article. Madison Square Garden, as his employer, was also found liable for Thomas's sexual harassment because employers can be found liable for the malfeasance of their workers if it occurs within the scope of their employment. This is helpful because most times the employer has much more money when it comes time to assign damages and execute a judgment.

So a jury found Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden liable for sexually harassing Anucha Brown Sanders, but only Madison Square Garden and chairman Jim Dolan were required to pay up. This does not magically exonerate Isiah Thomas as he seems to believe in this interview with Mike and Mike. Nor does the absence of punitive damages.

"When the jury had an opportunity to fine, they fined MSG. I was not liable or personally held for anything, so the jury found no findings." This is simply not true. Isiah Thomas was found liable for sexually harassing Anucha Brown Sanders, the jury couldn't decide if he should pay damages so it went to the team. There are any number of reasons for this, including the likelihood of satisfying the judgment through Isiah Thomas, who was then in the process of solidifying his case as least employable NBA executive of all time. The chances Thomas had $11.6 million laying around are not quite as high as Jim Dolan. A matter of accounting doesn't change the verdict.