FIRST of all, none of us really knows what actually transpired between Knicks president Isiah Thomas and Anucha Browne Sanders, a female senior vice president at the Garden, who has filed a harassment lawsuit after being fired from her job.
Perhaps what actually took place will be brought out in court if the case isn’t settled or dropped beforehand. I’d bet on one of the latter scenarios.
You can be sure the last thing the Garden wants is for its dirty laundry to be aired in the newspapers, letting us inside a corporate culture that surely has its share of skeletons.
Nonetheless, it’s an embarrassing stain on Thomas’ tenure with the Knicks and comes at a time when his leadership is being questioned. Never has his authority and job security seemed so vulnerable.
Whether or not Thomas is guilty of any wrongdoing in regards to Sanders, this development only adds to the perception the franchise is becoming dysfunctional and that may prompt owner Jim Dolan to end another clash of personalities within his building, the seemingly shaky alliance between Thomas and his coach Larry Brown.
There is evidence the marriage between Thomas and Brown will ultimately lead to a messy divorce with Brown winning a power struggle because he has the longer, richer contract.
We could go back to early in the season when Brown, soon after accepting his $10 million per salary, criticized the roster, saying there was too few point guards on the squad.
That was a direct reflection on Thomas, who has spent the last two years retooling the Knicks from an overpriced, aging team into one that is younger, more athletic and more expensive.
Thomas and Brown were on opposite sides in a public way last week. When nearly everyone in the Knicks organization, including Brown, said the five-game suspension forward Antonio Davis received for going into the stands in Chicago to protect his wife was excessive, Thomas stood alone in calling the suspension just. “I am relieved that it wasn’t more games,” Thomas said at the time.
While Thomas is certainly entitled to his opinion, his siding with the league on Davis’ suspension raised eyebrows, especially when his coach was so adamant Davis had been wronged. It was another sign the two are independent, headstrong thinkers, which has helped each become successful, but could ultimately work to the detriment of the organization.
Now comes this public revelation of a harassment lawsuit filed against Thomas. The action, of course, comes at a time when neither he nor the Knicks need the bad press.
The team carried a five-game losing streak into last night’s game against Sacramento at the Garden. Gone is all the positive vibe generated from a recent six-game winning streak.
With Davis out because of his suspension and point-guard Stephon Marbury missing three games because of injuries, the Knicks have looked even worse than they did during their 7-21 start to the season.
For now, the Garden is supporting Thomas in his legal battle against Sanders.
The Garden Chief Operating Officer Steve Mills was at Thomas’ side yesterday during a press conference in Manhattan where Thomas professed his innocence.
But the nature of corporate America is to isolate those accused of wrongdoing to protect the rest of the company, meaning this ultimately could be Thomas’ battle to fight alone.
He is innocent until proven guilty, but none of this is good for the NBA legend.
The team is losing; he has been accused of harassment; and there could be a power struggle with his coach.
In the end, Dolan may deliver a verdict long before any jury does.