Isiah Thomas' Complaint

Madison Square Garden and its chairman, James L. Dolan, will have to cough up $11.6 million worth of ticket receipts to Anucha Browne Sanders, a senior marketing vice president for the New York Knicks, whom coach Isiah Thomas called a "ho" and a "bitch." The damages come out to $6 million for creating "hostile work environment" and another $2.6 million for firing Sanders "in retaliation" when she complained about her mistreatment. (The Garden owns the Knicks.) Dolan will have to pay $3 million personally for his part in the decision to can her.

In December 2003, MSG hired Thomas, a basketball Hall of Famer from his years as an all-star with the Detroit Pistons, as president of basketball operations. Sanders was at that time "responsible for all the Knicks' business operations," and the second-ranking official in the team's front office. According to her legal complaint (see below and on the following seven pages; for the complete 20-page document click here) she was "one of the most accomplished and highly regarded women in professional sports." Browne Sanders' complaint states that the defendants "flouted the anti-discrimination laws to a degree rarely seen in the contemporary workplace" (Page 3). She paints an "animal house" picture of the Garden's executive suite, noting, for example, that Thomas would entice visiting team players to patronize New York "strip clubs" on Saturday nights and "get them intoxicated so they would not be prepared to play on Sunday" (Page 7). According to the complaint, Thomas screamed at Browne Sanders that she was a "f--king bitch" (Page 5) one day, then told her "I know you think I'm inappropriate, but I'm in love with you," another (Page 6).

In addition to the $11.6 million in punitive damages, the judge has yet to decide how much more to compensate Browne Sanders, a former college basketball star and a mother of three, for the year she spent seeking a new position. She is currently associate athletic director at the State University of New York at Buffalo, drawing a considerably lower salary. Although Thomas was found to have sexually harassed Browne Sanders, the jury, oddly, did not assess any punitive damages against the former court star.

Got a Hot Document? Send it to . Please indicate whether you wish to remain anonymous.

PRINTDISCUSSE-MAIL

• Swearing Is Bad
  Quaker pacifists strike a blow to California's loyalty oath.
  Bonnie Goldstein
  posted June 16, 2008
• Bill Murray's Pre-nup
  Want to marry Dr. Peter Venkman? Just sign here.
  Bonnie Goldstein
  posted June 2, 2008
• Kindergarten Show Trial
  The classmates of a 5-year-old autistic child vote him off the island.
  Bonnie Goldstein
  posted May 30, 2008
• Cindy McCain's Tax Return
  The candidate's wife contributed $1.7 million to the treasury for 2006.
  Bonnie Goldstein
  posted May 27, 2008
• DEA vs. CA
  Congress criticizes the drug agency's paramilitary crackdown on medical marijuana.
  Bonnie Goldstein
  posted May 23, 2008
• Search for more hot document articles
• Subscribe to the hot document RSS feed
• View our complete hot document archive

• Today's Headlines
• Can't Go Wrong With A Cheeseburger, Area Man Reports
  Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:21 -0400
• Courageous E-mail To Boss In Drafts Folder Since December
  Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:00:05 -0400
• Novak Hits Pedestrian With Corvette
  Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:00:45 -0400
• » More from the Onion

• Today's Headlines
• Poll: Hispanic Voters Back Obama by Wide Margins
  Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:04:26 GMT
• Opinion: Germans See Themselves in Obama
  Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:53:52 GMT
• How the Mosley Orgy Ruling Could Affect U.K. Media
  Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:34:59 GMT
• » More from Newsweek

• Today's Headlines
• Over the Rainbow: Angie and Jo
  Tue, 22 July 2008 16:21:23 GMT
• The New Tavis Smiley, Beware!
  Tue, 22 July 2008 16:27:58 GMT
• Go for the Bronze
  Fri, 25 July 2008 4:18:27 GMT
• » More from The Root