NBA Teams Will ’Suspend’ Isiah Thomas After N.Y. Knicks Eventually Fire Him
October 03 07
CNNSI reports on Isiah Thomas’ future with the Knicks after being held accountable for sexual harassment:
While Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden were held accountable by a federal jury Tuesday for sexually harassing a former team executive, it appears the NBA won’t issue significant penalties to Thomas and MSG chairman James Dolan.
Team and league sources said that because Thomas and Dolan were part of a civil case instead of one involving a criminal complaint, it is unlikely that the NBA will suspend Thomas or impose any major sanctions against Dolan. The jury decided that Dolan and MSG must pay Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 million in punitive damages; Thomas does not have to pay any damages.
My Quick Take: After such a high profile trial, Isiah Thomas will somehow keep his job as coach/GM of the New York Knicks. James Dolan, the team’s owner, won’t fire him. After all, Dolan was liable in this trial, too. And, because this was a civil case, Commissioner Stern can’t suspend Thomas.
The former point guard is free to ’focus on the Knicks.’ But the end is near. Eventually, Dolan will fall out of love with Thomas and fire him. And other teams won’t touch the Hall of Fame guard.
After all, this isn’t Thomas’ first scandal. As a player, he fought with teammates, opponents, and owners. As a club executive, he quit on the Raptors and engaged in a bizarre feud with Larry Brown, the man he paid ten million dollars per season to coach the Knicks. And as a league owner, he walked out on the Continental Basketball League.
Of course, there are also times when Thomas’ past reputation as a player, executive, and coach over lap and land him in trouble. Larry Bird, after being hired as Indiana’s GM, remembered Thomas’ act as a player and immediately canned him as Pacers’ coach.
The word is out on Thomas. The Knicks will eventually fire him. And, after everything that’s gone on, no other team will hire him. This will essentially act as a life-time suspension.
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