NEW YORK—On Tuesday a jury ruled that New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a former team executive. After three weeks in court for the $10 million lawsuit filed by plaintiff Anucha Browne Sanders, the jury concluded that Thomas had subjected her to unwanted advances and an onslaught of degrading verbal insults.
The jury also ruled that Madison Square Garden harassed Sanders and should pay her punitive damages. The jury must now determine the amount. However, jurors could not decide whether Thomas should pay damages. As a result, a mistrial was ruled on that issue.
Sanders, a 44-year-old married mother of three, described Madison Square Garden as a workplace where sexism and lewd comments were accepted behavior. She portrayed Thomas, who referred to her as a “bitch” and a “ho” and made unwanted advances toward her, as particularly offensive. She filed her lawsuit after being fired from her $260,000-a-year job in January 2006. Thomas and Madison Square Garden denied all of the allegations and plan to appeal.
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