New York Knicks owner and Madison Square Garden Entertainment CEO James Dolan is being sued alongside Harvey Weinstein.
Per CNN, the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Federal District Court in Los Angeles by a woman named Kellye Croft, who is accusing Weinstein of sexual assault and Dolan of coercing her into sex acts, among other claims. According to the lawsuit, Croft—a 27-year-old massage therapist at the time—met Dolan in 2013 while he was on tour with the Eagles, and he "was extremely assertive, and pressured Ms. Croft into unwanted sexual intercourse with him."
Croft's suit says she felt "disgusted" by and "terrified" of the situation and submitted to Dolan's advances due to the power he had over others on the tour and "assertions" he made about taking "care of her." Because of this, Dolan has also been accused of sex trafficking as he facilitated Croft's travel to California for sexual purposes induced by "force, fraud, or coercion."
Former movie executive Harvey Weinstein, who was arrested and charged with rape in 2018 and sentenced to 23 years in prison, was also mentioned in Croft's lawsuit. The woman accused Dolan of organizing a hotel meeting that led to her being sexually assaulted by Weinstein.
Croft claimed she met Weinstein at a hotel while on tour as Dolan's massage therapist, and the movie executive tried to get her to give him a rub down by allegedly chasing her into her room, pinning her down and assaulting her. The assault stopped after Dolan called her phone, and Weinstein realized who it was before reportedly saying, "Well, you know Jim and I are best friends. He's going to be very disappointed that you led me on, this won't look good for you."
Croft is seeking monetary and punitive damages. She's speaking up now because she "had been too traumatized by these events to speak publicly about what happened to her" prior.
"James Dolan manipulated me, brought me to California to abuse me, and then set me up for a vicious attack by Weinstein," Croft said in a public statement. "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."
Weinstein's attorney Jennifer Bonjean told CNN, "Mr. Weinstein vehemently denies these meritless allegations and looks forward to litigating these claims in a court of law where the truth will be revealed."
E. Danya Perry, a lawyer for Dolan, stated, "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 won, and cannot win, a judgment 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."
