Selena Roberts has a few thoughts about Isiah Thomas, and his prior history with 'truth'. I would venture to say Ms. Roberts doesn't believe Isiah Thomas to be an honest man in general. For myself, I don't have enough facts about the sexual harassment case to form an opinion as to the case's merit.
Selena Roberts: When Reality Runs Parallel to Accusation - New York Times
How can Isiah Thomas cast Anucha Browne Sanders as a lying opportunist when he has been a known practitioner of deception at every whistle stop along his career?THE ruthless strategists who routinely push dissenters over the balcony at Madison Square Garden would like you to take a leap of faith with them.
Believe the Garden variety truth, and Isiah Thomas is, as he defiantly described himself on Wednesday, a “pawn” being used for the “financial gain” of Anucha Browne Sanders. Believe their virtuous version of events and Browne Sanders's scurrilous accounts of sexual harassment and retaliation at the hands of Thomas are the vindictive rants of a fired executive.
But how can Thomas cast Browne Sanders as a lying opportunist when he has been a known practitioner of deception at every whistle-stop along his career? It was Thomas who whisked into New York in his tailored suit and Crest smile two years ago, offering this glimpse into his tactics as the new Knicks' president: I will lie if I have to.
And how can the Garden protectors of Thomas mouth workplace integrity and character without looking so karaoke? It was the Knicks' owner, James L. Dolan, who once flayed a lowly subordinate to tears for serving him a stale Diet Coke and aired his daddy issues in public when he feuded with his Cablevision pop.
The problem for Thomas and the Garden isn't Browne Sanders, but their inability to discredit the accuser when they have no credit references. They have tried to sully her, but to their profound disappointment and probable shock, she has had the gall to stand her ground.
If the Garden underestimates women, it only reveals their overt arrogance and closet sexism. Think about it: the Garden claims to have fired Browne Sanders — a marketing chief of superlative evaluations — for incompetence and disdainfully denied her request for a seven-figure settlement.Apparently, it only pays to be an incompetent man at the Garden. In recent years, the surly Shandon Anderson was handed $40 million to disappear from the roster, coaches Lenny Wilkens and Don Chaney were ushered off with seven figures in the mail and Penny Hardaway can bank more than $14 million this year as an Oscar-attired seat filler on the bench. For his part, Thomas is being paid around $10 million a year for assembling a $120 million version of “Ishtar.”
And Browne Sanders is the incompetent one?
Sexism, of course, isn't sexual harassment. It is impossible to know if Thomas was a no-look groper around the executive office cubicles, but the Garden culture does make it easier to believe the accounts of Browne Sanders because her allegations so accurately jibe with Garden behavior as usual.
..Accusation: Browne Sanders was forced to use cardboard cutouts of Knicks players to market the team in ads because Thomas would not make the players available.
Garden reality: Real Knicks don't do community service. So when the brilliant commercials ran, who knew the players were cardboard cutouts?
Accusation: Thomas told Browne Sanders that he wanted to schedule more Sunday noon games and was working with hotel concierges to direct visiting players to strip clubs on Saturday nights as a “basketball strategy.”Garden reality: Guess who has been lap-dancing, too? The Knicks were once accused of transporting strippers across state lines to bring the entertainment on the road.
..What transpired between Browne Sanders and Thomas isn't known as fact. But many elements of her complaint square with the Garden's history of hubris and male privilege.
Thomas and his Garden posse can smear Browne Sanders — and give her the Jets' stadium treatment and Mayor Bloomberg takedown — but it is impossible to take a leap of faith with ruthless pushers of deception.
parenthetical note: I thought those cardboard cut-outs of Knick players was clever.
