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.
