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Knicks boss Isiah Thomas faces accuser at start of sexual harassment trial

NEW YORK (AP) - New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas and a former team executive who claims he subjected her to unwanted sexual advances appeared in federal court Monday as jury selection began in her $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit.

Thomas and his accuser, Anucha Browne Sanders, sat stoically within a few feet of each other, both flanked by teams of lawyers. Thomas, also the team's president and considered one of the best players in NBA history, stood and smiled as the judge introduced him to the scores of potential jurors sitting in the gallery.

The jury pool was asked to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. One of the questions: ``Do you regularly follow professional basketball or consider yourself a fan?''

U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch also read aloud a list of names of possible witnesses, including Knicks players Stephon Marbury and Malik Rose. The questionnaire asked if ``you have an opinion about either of them that would in any way bias you in considering their testimony.''

During individual questioning, the judge dismissed one prospective juror, a coffee trader, after the man revealed his anguish over being fired from a job based on a co-worker's claim of inappropriate touching.

``It was humiliating,'' the man said. ``I was shocked. And devastated, too.''

A building maintenance man and Knicks fan was kept in the pool despite suggesting that game tickets were overpriced and that Thomas' track record as coach was poor.

``I can speak freely? The team's not doing too well,'' he said as Thomas listened nearby.

Eight jurors were to be picked for a trial expected to begin with opening statements on Tuesday and last three weeks, meaning a verdict could come just before the Knicks open training camp for the 2007-08 season.

Browne Sanders, a former Northwestern basketball star and married mother of three, wants reinstatement to her job as senior vice present of marketing and business operations. She's also seeking hefty damages after spending five years with the storied franchise.

The plaintiff contends she was fired in January 2006 ``for telling the truth'' while going through internal channels to stop the harassment by Thomas, also the team's president for basketball operations. Madison Square Garden, which owns the team, insisted her dismissal was because she ``failed to fulfill professional responsibilities.''

Thomas, a former Detroit Pistons guard who in 1996 was voted one of the NBA's top 50 players of all time, has acknowledged that in December 2005 he tried to kiss Browne Sanders on the cheek at a Knicks game and asked ``No love today?'' when she pulled away, according to a recounting of claims by the judge.

But the Knicks coach has disputed her allegations that he said he loved her and asked her to ``go off site'' with him.

MSG officials expect the trial to show ``this meritless lawsuit is riddled with fabrications and really is all about money,'' they said in a statement Monday.

In a separate statement, defense attorney Sue Ellen Eisenberg stressed that Browne Sanders never worked directly for Thomas.

``Isiah did not hire her, he did not fire her, he never said he was in love with her and he never ever sexually harassed Ms. Browne Sanders,'' she said.

FanNation.com via AP