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Plaintiff: Isiah Thomas cursed white fans

BY ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO | tony.destefano@newsday.com

September 12, 2007

New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is accused of making sexual advances against a former Knicks executive. (AP Photo)

New York Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas spewed disdain about white people and season ticket holders, according to the testimony Tuesday of a fired Madison Square Garden executive in federal court in Manhattan.

Anucha Browne Sanders, 44, is suing Thomas, MSG and Chairman James L. Dolan for sexual harassment and unlawful discharge, and testified as the first witness in the civil trial. This morning, Knicks star Stephon Marbury is expected to be called to the stand.

Browne Sanders said Thomas heaped obscenities on her during business discussions, including one in early 2004 over marketing efforts for ticket holders.

"'I don't give a -- -- about season subscribers,'" Thomas said, according to Browne Sanders.

She said he continued his tirade in racial terms about whites even though 80 percent of the team's season ticket holders were of that race then. Browne Sanders said Thomas, who was hired in late 2003, didn't want to get involved in marketing efforts.

The former MSG marketing executive was fired in January 2006 and is seeking more than $10 million in damages. She said Thomas made it a continual practice to start off any conversation with her by calling her a "bitch" or " -- -- bitch," and sometimes called her a "ho."

But she said Thomas became more friendly after a Knicks family Christmas party in December 2004 at the team's training facility in Tarrytown, where both enjoyed a game of shooting baskets.

A few days later, after a Knicks win at the Garden, Browne Sanders said Thomas gave her a big hug and said he figured out why they had previously been so contentious.

"'It is because we are so much alike. I am in love with you,'" Thomas said, according to Browne Sanders. She told the jury she didn't know what to think about that and left the Garden as fast as she could.

About two months later, in early 2005, Thomas gave her a big hug behind closed doors in his office, again said he was in love with her and mentioned that he wanted to go "off-site" with her for some "private time," according to Browne Sanders.

"Isiah, we have to find out a way to work professionally; we owe it to Steve Mills," Browne Sanders said she responded, referring to a top MSG executive.

Browne Sanders said she reported Thomas' comments to Mills. She said he told her, "'You don't have to go off-site with Isiah.'"

Leaving federal court Tuesday, Thomas derided Brown Sanders' testimony.

"It was wildly outrageous and very fabricated. I look forward to my day on the stand," said Thomas.

The trial before Judge Gerald Lynch is expected to last about three weeks.

Matthew Chayes contributed to this story