Judge dismisses sexual assault, trafficking lawsuit against Knicks chairman James Dolan

Warning: The following article contains descriptions of alleged graphic sexual assault.

A judge dismissed a federal lawsuit filed against New York Knicks and Rangers team owner James Dolan on Tuesday night that accused him of both pressuring a woman into unwanted sex and coordinating an encounter with former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

Kellye Croft initially filed her lawsuit in Los Angeles in January. She alleged that Dolan repeatedly pressured her into sex in 2013 and 2014 and that Weinstein — who has been convicted in various other sexual crimes in recent years and was a longtime friend of Dolan’s — sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel. Croft also accused both men of sexual assault and unwanted touching, and accused Dolan of sex trafficking.

“We are very pleased with the dismissal of the lawsuit, which was a malicious attempt to assert horrific allegations by an attorney who subverts the legal system for personal gain – this also happens to be the same attorney in the Charles Oakley case,” a Dolan spokesperson told Yahoo Sports in a statement.

The Oakley case stems from an incident in which the former New York Knicks player was ejected from Madison Square Garden in 2017. That case is still ongoing.

Croft said in her lawsuit that she was hired as a massage therapist for the Eagles band for their tour in 2013. Dolan’s band, JD & the Straight Shot, was an opening act on that tour. She said that Dolan repeatedly pressured her into having sex multiple times throughout the tour, and that she “felt obligated to submit to sex with him.”

When the band had a residence at The Forum in Inglewood, California, in January 2014, Croft rejoined the tour to continue working. She said that she met Weinstein while waiting for an elevator at a Beverly Hills hotel that month, which she alleged Dolan set up, and that Weinstein later sexually assaulted her that night. Croft said she told Dolan about the assault, and that he was “not at all surprised” as Weinstein “was ‘a troubled person’ that had a lot of ‘serious issues.’”

Weinstein is currently…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/judge-dismisses-sexual-assault-trafficking-lawsuit-against-knicks-chairman-james-dolan-195137759.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-18 19:51:37

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