Tuesday, New York Knicks owner James Dolan was named in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting and trafficking a masseuse.
In the suit, stemming from 2013, plaintiff Kellye Croft accuses Dolan of pressuring her into unwanted sex on multiple occasions after she was invited to serve as a massage therapist on a music tour headlined by the Eagles. Dolan, who also serves as Madison Square Garden CEO, is also a blues singer for the band JD & The Straight Shot, which was an opening act during the tour.
In one encounter, Croft says Dolan became “extremely assertive, and pressured Ms. Croft into unwanted sexual intercourse with him.”
In another incident, Croft says she was flown out to California under the pretense of working as a massage therapist, but it turned out these were fraudulent pretenses, and instead, Croft was trafficked by Dolan to engage in unlawful and unwelcome sex acts.
Croft also stated that Dolan orchestrated a seemingly random meeting between her and Harvey Weinstein, resulting in Croft being sexually assaulted by Weinstein. When she informed Dolan about the alleged attack, she claimed he neither seemed surprised nor offered assistance in reporting the assault to the police.
Croft alleges that it was not easy to come forward, and this has taken a profound toll on her.
“I have suffered so profoundly because of what James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein did to me years ago, and it was not an easy decision to come forward and seek justice,” Croft said in a statement. “But for me, to truly address my trauma, I need to seek accountability. James Dolan manipulated me, brought me to California to abuse me, and then set me up for a vicious attack by Weinstein. My hope is that my lawsuit will force Dolan to acknowledge what he did to me and to take responsibility for the harm he has caused.”
In a statement from Dolan’s lawyer, E. Danya Perry, Dolan denied any wrongdoing towards the plaintiff.
“There is absolutely no merit to any of the allegations against Mr. Dolan. Kellye Croft and James Dolan had a friendship. The references to Harvey Weinstein are simply meant to inflame and appear to be plagiarized from prior cases against Mr. Weinstein. These claims reflect an act of retaliation by an attorney who has brought multiple cases against Mr. Dolan and has not, and cannot, win a judgement against him. Mr. Dolan always believed Ms. Croft to be a good person and is surprised she would agree to these claims. Bottom line, this is not a he said/she said matter and there is compelling evidence to back up our position. We look forward to proving that in court.”
Croft has put together a strong legal team. She is represented by attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith A. Firetog of Wigdor LLP, Kevin Mintzer and Laura L. Koistinen of the Law Office of Kevin Mintzer, P.C., and Omar H. Bengali of Gerard Bengali, APC.
Widgor represents former New York Knicks legend forward Charles Oakley in his case against Madison Square Garden after an ejection from the arena in February 2017. Wigdor and Mintzer are currently representing nine other victims of Weinstein, and they led the Weinstein Company’s bankruptcy settlement.
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