November 24, 2007
Dismissing Thomas Could Backfire on Garden
By HOWARD BECK

Not long ago, a sexual harassment lawsuit appeared to be the greatest threat to Isiah Thomas’s position as coach and president of the Knicks. Now, that very same lawsuit could possibly help Thomas keep his job.

The Knicks are 2-9 and have lost eight straight games, inspiring widespread speculation that Thomas will soon be fired by James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman.

But Dolan and his lawyers may first have to consider the legal implications of dismissing Thomas. Such an action could be used against the Garden on several fronts, according to Fred Nance, a regional managing partner for Squire Sanders, a Cleveland-based law firm.

“This is a very complex equation for the Garden,” said Nance, whose specialties include sports law and who has served as counsel to the Cavaliers star LeBron James. “They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

Thomas and the Garden were co-defendants in a sexual harassment lawsuit that ended last month with an $11.6 million judgment against the Garden. The case is being appealed.

The appellate court, consisting of a three-judge panel, cannot take recent events (including a potential dismissal of Thomas) into consideration; by law, the appeal must be decided on the facts presented at trial. But if the appellate court set aside the judgment, Thomas’s termination would be fair game in a new trial.

The Garden faces legal problems on other fronts, including a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Rangers dancer. And two former security supervisors, both black women, will soon file a suit alleging sexual and racial discrimination, according to a lawyer representing the women.

Although Thomas is not a defendant or a potential defendant in those cases, “anything that happens that reflects on Isiah’s conduct could become relevant,” Nance said. He added, “If I’m the plaintiff’s lawyer, I’m going to try to get into evidence that you ultimately fired the guy that is at the seat of all of these allegations” in the previous case.

If he were the Garden’s lawyer, Nance said, he would consider the legal issues before firing Thomas, regardless of his performance as coach.

During the sexual harassment trial, the lawyers for Thomas and the Garden presented a united front. Their presentation could, “without a doubt,” be weakened if their clients were at odds, Nance said.

Also, Thomas was not ordered to pay damages in the case, so he has less of a stake in its outcome than the Garden does. If he were no longer employed by the organization, Thomas might be inclined to disclose information that could hurt the Garden’s defense in all its harassment cases.

“They don’t need to antagonize Isiah,” Nance said. “If he is fired and no longer has a common business interest with them then, and they’re the ones who are facing the liability and he isn’t, then yeah, he has little motivation to help them. Indeed, if he in any way feels wronged, he might even feel some antagonism toward them.”

So, in theory, the sexual harassment lawsuit that tarnished Thomas’s reputation could save his job.

“Ironically, yes,” Nance said.

Posted by bigbeast:

So Marb has dirt on Isiah, which allowed him to stay on the team and return to the starting lineup. Now Isiah might have dirt on Dolan which is preventing him from being fired. I swear, Jim must have some dirt on his dad which is keeping him on as the owner. This is unbelievable. Just when you think this team cant sink any lower........unbelievable.

This should also explain why Isiah feels his job aint in jeapordy. The circus continues.

[Edited by - bigbeast on 24-11-2007 12:00 PM]

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Killa4luv:

Dolan should have settled. ANy idiot knew that then. If you can pay Jerome James 30 million to be a team mascot, you could have paid 300,000 to 1 million to have Anucha walk away quietly.

I understand the knicks organization, because I worked for a place with horrible management before, so I know what its like. Its like the show "The Office". When your boss is an idiot good things can only happen by mistake.

wasn't she asking for $6 mil to settle? i agree, they shoulda settled simply to avoid all the negative publicity.