Sexual assault lawsuit towards James Dolan, Harvey Weinstein dismissed

A federal lawsuit that accused New York Knicks proprietor James Dolan of undesirable intercourse and sexual assault near a decade in the past has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court docket decide in California, in keeping with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

The accusations towards Dolan claimed he sexually assaulted and trafficked a feminine masseuse, Kellye Croft, in 2013 whereas his band on the time was on tour with The Eagles. Amongst many different accusations of sexual assault, the lawsuit claimed Dolan flew Kroft to California for his personal intentions regardless of her being satisfied she was touring to work as a therapeutic massage therapist.

The lawsuit additionally claimed Dolan coordinated an encounter with Harvey Weinstein, who was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 23 years in jail on fees of rape and committing a felony intercourse act.

As a result of case being dismissed, Dolan will not face any authorized penalties, nor will he face any punishment from the NBA. In January, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke concerning the allegations dealing with Dolan, merely stating that the league was going to attend to search out out the entire particulars on the matter earlier than taking any motion. Now that the case has been dismissed, no motion will likely be taken by the NBA.

“We’re more than happy with the dismissal of the lawsuit, which was a malicious try to say horrific allegations by an lawyer who subverts the authorized system for private achieve,” Dolan’s spokesperson mentioned in an announcement.

Whereas this case accusing Dolan of intercourse trafficking has been dismissed with prejudice, her claims of sexual battery towards the Knicks proprietor, Weinstein’s sexual assault, and aiding and abetting of sexual assault by Dolan had been dismissed with out prejudice, in keeping with ESPN. Because of this, she might file these claims once more in a separate lawsuit.

Over the previous couple of years, Dolan has made headlines for the entire mistaken causes. In 2023, Dolan and the Knicks discovered themselves concerned in a lawsuit towards the Toronto Raptors, a lawsuit that alleged a former Knicks worker that joined the Raptors “illegally procured” and disclosed proprietary data from New York and shared it with members of his new group. This previous June, a U.S. District Court docket decide dominated that this dispute needs to be settled by Silver and the NBA, in keeping with The Athletic.

On account of the continuing issues between the Knicks and Raptors, Dolan objected to Toronto’s bid for a WNBA enlargement franchise, making the NBA’s Board of Governors vote 29-1.

Points involving Dolan and the NBA have continued this summer season, because the Knicks proprietor lately criticized the NBA’s revenue-sharing insurance policies. Dolan denounced the brand new $74.6 billion media deal that the league has agreed to, arguing that this new settlement renders the league’s Regional Sports activities Networks as “unviable.” In a letter he despatched to the NBA’s Board of Governors in November, Dolan claimed the league would not care nor need to hear about his opinions because of the league not displaying any help in his lawsuit towards the Raptors.

Whether or not or not Dolan will resolve his issues with the NBA and the opposite homeowners across the league is a serious unknown. Nevertheless, the lawsuit involving sexual assault allegations in the direction of him has been dismissed, releasing the Knicks proprietor from standing trial on a really critical matter.