A woman has alleged that New York Knicks owner James Dolan sexually assaulted her a decade ago and then set her up to be molested by now-imprisoned film producer Harvey Weinstein, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, Associated Press (AP) reports.
According to the report by AP, in 2013, plaintiff Kellye Croft was a 27-year-old licensed massage therapist working on a tour for The Eagles. Dolan’s band, New York Knicks owner James Dolan and The Straight Shot, opened for the rock band. Dolan, then 58, allegedly used his power and influence on the tour to repeatedly manipulate and pressure Croft “to submit to sex with him,” the lawsuit states.
When the tour traveled to Los Angeles, New York Knicks owner James Dolan flew Croft there even though almost no tour members signed up for massage appointments, the lawsuit states. Dolan then continued to “sexually exploit” her and orchestrated a seemingly random meeting between Croft and Weinstein, a friend of his, in a hotel elevator in early 2014, the suit alleges, AP reported.
Weinstein offered her opportunities to work on film sets, according to the lawsuit, and changed into a loosely tied bathrobe in his suite and asked Croft to give him a massage.
She felt uncomfortable and left the suite, but Weinstein, still in the bathrobe, followed her, the suit charges. He forced his way into her hotel room and sexually assaulted her, the lawsuit states. When she told New York Knicks owner James Dolan of the alleged attack, he neither seemed surprised nor offered to help her report the assault to police, she alleges.
Croft alleges that Dolan knew about Weinstein’s misconduct toward women and told her “we all know” that Weinstein “has problems.”
“Indeed, with his comments, Ms. Croft felt that Dolan completely dismissed the gravity of the situation and did not truly care about what his friend had done to her,” the suit states.
Dolan was a member of the board of directors for Weinstein’s film production company for about a year between 2015 and 2016.
Douglas Wigdor, the attorney representing Croft, has been the lawyer for multiple lawsuits against Weinstein and Dolan, including a 2017 proceeding where the sports executive was named in a suit against members of the board that alleged they were aware of Weinstein’s conduct toward women but did not try to stop it.
Dolan’s attorney, E. Danya Perry, on Tuesday called Croft’s complaint “an act of retaliation” by Wigdor, who disputed the characterization.
“It is time to finally hold Dolan accountable for his outrageous conduct,” Wigdor said in a statement.
Croft, now 38, is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.