Here is a thing that actually, inarguably happened. On October 6, 2007, a jury found that Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a New York Knicks executive, who was fired when she told Madison Square Garden, the organization that owns the Knicks, that Isiah Thomas sexually harassed her. She was awarded $11.6 million to be paid by MSG and MSG’s owner, James Dolan.
Here is another thing that actually, inarguably happened. On May 5, 2015, MSG named Isiah Thomas the president of the New York Liberty, a basketball team also owned by MSG who compete in the Women’s National Basketball Association. That same day, when people objected to a sexual harasser being put in charge of a women’s basketball team, MSG released a statement saying, among other things, “We did not believe the allegations then, and we don’t believe them now.”
Here is one final thing that actually, inarguably happened. Isiah Thomas went on ESPN’s Mike and Mike show today, and was posed with the question: “How should fans of the New York Liberty reconcile your position with that team and the sexual harassment history of you back in your days with the Knicks?”
“When the jury had an opportunity to fine,” Thomas began. “They fined Madison Square Garden. I was not liable or personally held for anything. The jury found no findings.”
“Anyone who’s vetted this,” he went on, “has looked at it, has come out and found that—as the jury found—that there were no findings in terms of Isiah Thomas.”
Here is a thing that actually, inarguably happened. On October 6, 2007, a jury found that Isiah Thomas sexually harassed a New York Knicks executive, who was fired when she told Madison Square Garden, the organization that owns the Knicks, that Isiah Thomas sexually harassed her. She was awarded $11.6 million to be paid by MSG and MSG’s owner, James Dolan.