NEW YORK _ After enduring years of alleged profane outbursts and sexual harassment from Isiah Thomas, Anucha Browne Sanders said she approached her boss _ Steve Mills _ and made it clear: "I want you to make it stop."
"I said to Steve, 'These are working conditions that don't work for me, so you need to fix them,' " Browne Sanders said.
Mills, who was president of MSG Sports at the time, seemed non-committal _ "What do you want me to do?" he responded, according to Browne Sanders _ and she returned to her office. Mills then called to relay a warning, according to Browne Sanders.
"He said, 'Well, you should be prepared that Isiah is going to start a rumor about you having an affair with Jeff Nix, another employee in the Knicks' office," Browne Sanders, who was married at the time, said. "I said Steve, 'Is that a threat? He said, 'No, no, it is not a threat. I said, 'Do I need to find a lawyer? And he said, 'No, you don't need to find a lawyer.' The conversation ended."
Browne Sanders found a lawyer. The above quotes and allegations were part her testimony in a civil trial against MSG and Thomas, an embarrassing saga for Madison Square Garden that ended with Browne Sanders being awarded $11.6 million in damages.
The lawsuit, which was filed 15 years ago next January, now represents a uniquely unflattering inside view of a sports organization. These types of lawsuits are usually settled or tossed, so Sanders v. Madison Square Garden remains the NBA's highest-profile harassment/wrongful termination case. It produced 1,606 pages of transcript from 22 witnesses, including owner James Dolan and former star point guard Stephon Marbury. It revealed allegations of a sex romp in an SUV, rampant profane outbursts, the team president ordering a female Garden exec to flirt with the referees before a game, and Marbury's cousin _ a Garden employee _ telling a female intern, "I bet you that p---- looks good." Two of MSG's most prominent figures in the case _ Thomas and Mills _ were still employed by the company in the last year.
The Daily News reviewed the entire trial transcript through a modern-day lens, with norms and expectations altered following the #metoo movement. It's not an attempt to re-litigate the trial or evaluate the verdict, but rather retell the absurd stories that were forgotten or underplayed in 2007. In the spirit of the throwback sports coverage dominating the coronavirus shutdown, this is a reexamination of unprecedented on-the-record access into an organization.
It's important to note that the trial featured massive disparities in testimony from both sides. Browne Sanders' allegations mostly focused on incidents and conversations with no witnesses. Her testimony is often contradicted by Mills and Thomas.
For instance, Mills denied telling Browne Sanders about the threat of a rumored affair with Nix. Thomas also denied telling Mills about the rumor.
Nix, however, testified that Browne Sanders informed him of Mills' threat. His reaction was to contact MSG's human resources and angrily deny the affair.
"I said (to human resources), Steve Mills is a f------ liar," the former Knicks assistant GM said.
The claim that Browne Sanders was threatened into silence by such a rumor was one of several eyebrow-raising stories from the trial. Here are several others:
