News broke Monday that former sports journalist Kelli Tennant has filed a lawsuit against NBA fixture Luke Walton over an alleged sexual assault that took place in a Santa Monica, Calif. hotel room.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The filing does not identify a specific date on which the alleged attack occurred, but enough detail was given to pinpoint that the incident happened while Walton was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Warriors claimed to have had no prior knowledge of the allegations:
We became aware of the alleged incident and story this evening and are in the process of seeking more information. We’ll have no further comment at this time.
In 2016, Walton accepted the head coaching position with the Los Angeles Lakers, which also claimed no prior knowledge of the allegations against Walton:
At no time before or during his employment here was this allegation reported to the Lakers. If it had been, we would have immediately commenced an investigation and notified the NBA. Since Luke Walton is now under contract to another team, we will have no further comment.
The Sacramento Kings, who announced last week they had reach a four-year deal to bring Walton on as head coach, issued the following official statement Monday evening:
We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time.
Sam Amick with The Athletic reported via “a source with knowledge of the situation” that Kings general manager Vlade Divac was surprised by the allegations and had no prior knowledge while working to bring him into the franchise.
Walton wrote the forward to Tennant’s 2014 book, The Transition, and reportedly had been a mentor to Tennant.
Walton denies the allegations and is being represented by Mark Baute, the attorney who successfully represented Derrick Rose against allegations of gang rape.
