Ok, enough is enough. As much as I view Isiah Thomas as a mediocre coach and GM, this sexual harassment issue is getting ridiculous.
According to one of Isiah’s defense lawyers, Sue Ellen Eisenberg, Anucha Browne Sanders should not be suing Thomas at all. “Isiah did not hire her, he did not fire her, he never said he was in love with her and he never ever sexually harassed Ms. Browne Sanders.” Knicks guard Stephon Marbury has labelled the lawsuit as a “joke” and I can understand why he feels this way. Browne Sanders has brought Marbury’s private life into this lawsuit, which is irrelevant to Thomas’ alleged improper behaviour.
So Stephon Marbury had sex with an intern. That is irrelevant to the complaints of Anucha Browne Sanders. That intern consented, and last time I checked, there is nothing illegal about two people having consensual sex. It is none of Anucha’s business who Marbury has sex with, and it appears that she is looking for dirt to make her case stronger, regardless of whether the dirt is relevant. Stephon Marbury’s private life has nothing to do with this case, and Browne Sanders should get back on topic and stop wasting everybody’s time.
Kathleen Decker, the woman he had sex with, not only testified in court that the sex was consensual, but told the court that Browne Sanders was ‘mean’ to her when she was describing her night with Marbury. Despite the fact that the incident was none of her business and is irrelevant to the issue at hand, the Judge has allowed Browne Sanders to make a mockery of the justice system by introducing so many allegations, which lack evidence and have little relevance.
An expert lawyer, Ron Kuby, has stated that “Generally speaking, crude and vulgar language is not a part of a sexual harassment case”, and that “if you removed the f-word and the b-word, this trial would be cut in half.” The same article reports that MSG Sports chief executive, Steve Mills, testified in court and claimed that he had never heard Isiah use the b-word. He went further and denied that Browne Sanders’ charges are untrue.
Isiah has many witnesses who protest his innocence, while Browne Sanders’ arguments often involve alleged incidents unrelated to this case. One such allegation is that Thomas instructed a Knicks cheerleader to flirt with a referee before a match. While this could be true, it is unconnected to this case. Browne Sanders is bringing up so much irrelevant crap, and this trial is going to slowly, that a juror actually fell asleep.
My view is that Anucha Browne Sanders were fired because her bosses viewed her as the incompetent troublemaker that she is, and now she is looking for revenge. This woman wanted Isiah Thomas to hand sign 4500 letters to fans encouraging them to buy tickets. Her incompetence is noticeable to anyone when this is mentioned. Doesn’t she realise that NBA coaches have more important things to do than sign letters? They get paid to coach, not sign letters.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated wrote: “By my estimation, in the nearly three hours Browne Sanders was cross-examined by Garden attorneys, she revealed that she thought Knicks assistant coach Herb Williams was "too nice" and that Thomas might have too close a relationship with Stephon Marbury. Shocking revelations.” I can understand why he, and many other journalists, have had enough. This trial is absurd, and no longer entertaining.
Perhaps we should put this trial in front of Judge Judy, televise it, and watch the Judge tell Browne Sanders’ that her allegations are laughable, and her case utterly ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that Madison Square Garden fired an incompetent employee. Browne Sanders should get over it, and stop trying to bring everyone down with her.
