Bay Area Sports Guy – Monta Ellis and Warriors facing sexual harassment suit

Really strange news today for the Golden State Warriors and their leading scorer. I’ll let Marcus Thompson II explain:

The Warriors and guard Monta Ellis are being sued by a former employee for sexual harassment.

According to an email from the Law Offices of Burton F. Boltuch, the plaintiff will file the suit Wednesday morning in Oakland at the Superior Court of Alameda County. Afterward, a press conference will be held to discuss the allegations.

According to Boltuch, the plaintiff is accusing Ellis of sexually harassing her from November 2010 to January 2011. The accuser, according to Boltuch, has photo evidence of the harrassment, which he claims was sent from Ellis’ cell phone to the plaintiff.

The photo will be revealed – along with the identity of the accuser – at the press conference, Boltuch said.

“You will be shocked when you see it,” Boltuch said. “It’s pretty disgusting and graphic.”

The Warriors are being accused of covering for Ellis. Boltuch alleges his client was let go “because they wanted to cover it up.”

Boltuch said his client tried to resolve the matter previously, but the Warriors refused.

While the basketball fan in me is tempted to wonder how this alleged behavior and the resulting fallout will hamper Ellis’ trade value, the “cover it up” portion of Botuch’s allegations represents a possible black eye for the Warriors.

Not only is this suit the opposite of how the (sort of) new regime wants to start this lockout-shortened season, but if these complaints have any merit (and let’s not forget, they could be absolutely baseless), the Warriors could be on the hook for a huge payout. Sexual harassment suits take on a new life if the plaintiff can prove that he or she had their employment terminated after making a complaint.

According to Matt Steinmetz, “In addition to Ellis, also named in the lawsuit are co-owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber and general manager Larry Riley.”

So tomorrow we’re supposedly going to see a “disgusting and graphic” photo allegedly sent by Ellis, which means Deadspin probably already has someone from their “I-Team” camped out in front of Alameda Superior Court as we speak, praying for a glimpse of some “athlete dong” (the resourceful kids at Deadspin already linked to Boltuch’s website, calling it “incredibly classy”).

So will this alleged photo be somewhere on the scale between Greg Oden and Brett Favre, or will this photo open up a new genre of awful photos sent by athletes via mobile phone? The press conference is tomorrow at 9:30 am, so (shudder) we’ll find out shortly.

11 comments

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Stan

Speaking of Warriors-Tim Kawakami who has me SUPER blocked from his blog "enter password" like I'm some super duper hacker-lol!...seems to have confirmed what I had posted on his blog that got me banned..HE was over the top in love with Lacob and Jerry West. Kawakami now is writing.."Hey,its the same team as last year"..well,duh.

Who knows? I heard the lawyer,saw her..Its possible,and Its also possible she led him on..who knows? But being married sure doesnt help Monta's case. I feel sorry for the wife.

Jon

money grab

Dan

my feelings were hurt and felt uncomfortable.....I want a million dollars

The Goose

I didn't give the lawsuit much credence until I read a more detailed version. This women would risk a major libel suit and possible counts for fabrication if she was lying. However, the claims as outlined and timeline of events had more plausibility and a ring of truth than I expected. And by the way, so tired of the NBA PR machine telling all of us each year how former 'problem players' have reformed and 'matured'. Seems like every time a team tries this spin it turns out they were fabricating. Overall, if the allegations are true and they may not be, I would be more pissed at Lacob and co. than anybody. If true, totally stupid, classless and unethical move given all that is at stake.

TSM

Let's be real for a moment. This gold digger was in the game for that million dollar dong from the very start. And so far she has played the game well: -she got the job -she got the dong email for insurance -then she probably started acting like she was the boss of the franchise, knowing that if terminated, she had that lucky dong to fall back on. If only the Warriors could come up with a strategy like that for winning their GAMES!

3rdKing

Same old Warriors, gonna be a long year...

Beidrens should be sued for impersonating a center in the NBA and for obscene play..18 minutes and he "willed" his way to two points. Curry looking soft again. His ankle is half his body weight..how can he turn it so often? Once an ankle is that shot..it stays gimpy for life.

Sounds like a set up.Or, He must have took a wild guess to get her email..used his Monta super mathmetical brain. And what ever happened to Mark Jackson's pastor/drug lord friend? How do you not know your best freind?..same for Marion Barber come to think of it, and Sam Hurd..

I hope these allegations are false and they may well be. However, if they are not I would be very dissapointed in the new Warriors ownership if they were involved in a coverup as the lawsuit claims. Frankly, one of the reasons I embraced the new Warriors ownership(Lacob especially)is in addition to their passion and intelligence; they seemed like 'good guys.' The plaintiff could be someone's daughter, wife mother, sister girlfriend. That being said, the accusers attorney is turning something that could be settled privately into a 'media event' which makes me wonder as to the lawsuits credibility. The owners and GM's names could have been added to force a settlement even if they did nothing wrong as they have more at stake from a perception/PR standpoint. We'll see how it plays out.

Licky

I think the fact that her attorneys will turn the photo public only hurts their clients credibility. Bad move on their part if they hope to go to court. Obviously, they are hoping for a plea bargain. Now, let's hear the Warriors'/Ellis' version. Let the leaks begin.