Source: Andrew Toth/Getty
Could New York Knicks owner James Dolan be the next NBA boss forced to sell the team by Commissioner Adam Silver?
We doubt Knicks fans have ever seen their dreams come true (championships, LeBron signing, etc.), but the hated owner of New York's beloved basketball team is facing serious charges. Both Dolan and Harvey Weinstein have been the subject of a lawsuit alleging they sexually assaulted a masseuse a decade ago. According CNNKellye Croft filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday (January 16) alleging that James Dolan forced her to have unwanted sex with him while giving him a massage in 2013.
Croft says she met Dolan while on tour with the Eagles. The then 23-year-old's life changed when the Knicks owner came out of her pocket and allegedly forced her to do something that left her scarred for life.
CNN References:
While giving a massage, “Dolan pulled Ms. Croft toward him,” the lawsuit alleges. “Ma'am. Croft tried to end the massage, but Dolan kept coming out even harder, meeting Mrs. Croft's resistance as part of a challenge or a game. Dolan then grabbed Mrs. Croft's hands, dragging her to a couch. in the same room and pressing her hands between his knees as she sat. Mrs. Croft was adamant that she did not want to have sexual relations with Dolan, who was then married and over thirty years older than Mrs. Croft.”
“She felt disgusted and horrified by the situation, but the extreme isolation she felt from others on the tour, combined with Dolan's attention to her, his claims that he would take care of her, and her recognition that this man had enormous power over to everyone. The position on the tour — including her own — led her to submit to Dolan's advances,” the lawsuit states.
But it didn't end there. Croft also claims that Dolan arranged a meeting between her and disgraced Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein at a hotel where the convicted rapist also sexually assaulted her.
Both Dolan and Weinstein have denied the allegations with Dolan saying he considered Croft “a good person and was surprised that he would agree to these allegations”.
Croft is seeking both monetary and punitive damages, saying the encounters left her so traumatized that she couldn't talk about the incidents for years.
More than CNN:
“I have suffered so deeply because of what James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein did to me years ago and it was not an easy decision to come forward and seek justice. But for me, to really deal with my trauma, I have to seek accountability,” Croft said in a statement to CNN. “I hope my lawsuit will force Dolan to acknowledge what he did to me and take responsibility for the harm he caused.”
Don't be surprised if this is settled out of court, as Dolan wouldn't want any of his dirty laundry aired in public.
What do you think about the situation? Should Adam Silver force Dolan to sell the team if these allegations turn out to be true? Let us know in the comments section below.
