Knicks, Rangers, and Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan has been named in a lawsuit by a woman who said he pressured her into nonconsensual sex. The lawsuit also named Dolan's close friend and business associate Harvey Weinstein, saying Weinstein also sexually assaulted the woman, which Dolan knew about.
The suit was filed Tuesday in federal district court in Los Angeles by the woman, Kellye Croft, and names as defendants Dolan, Weinstein, and the management companies for the bands JD & The Straight Shot and The Eagles. Croft said in her lawsuit that she was 27 years old in 2013 when she was hired as a licensed massage therapist to go on tour with the Eagles, with Dolan's band supporting. In her lawsuit, she described Dolan coercing her into sex after a massage:
Towards the end of the massage, Dolan pulled Ms. Croft towards him. She tried to push away, stating that she was very uncomfortable and that she took her job as a masseuse very seriously and that she wanted to remain professional.
Ms. Croft tried to bring the massage to an end, but Dolan proceeded to come on even stronger, treating Ms. Croft’s resistance as part of a challenge or a game.
Dolan then grabbed Ms. Croft’s hands, dragging her to a couch in the same room and forcing her hands between his knees as he sat down. Ms. Croft was adamant that she did not want to have any sexual interactions with Dolan, who was married at the time and over thirty years older than Ms. Croft.
Dolan was extremely assertive, and pressured Ms. Croft into unwanted sexual intercourse with him.
The suit also said that Dolan used his stature and power to make unwanted advances on her multiple times on the tour, "and she felt obligated to submit to sex with him."
According to Croft's suit, Dolan later flew her out to Los Angeles for another stop on the tour. At the hotel, Croft said she ran into Harvey Weinstein while waiting for the elevator. Croft said Weinstein told her Dolan was “one of his best friends” and asked her Croft if she was "the massage therapist" Dolan had told him about, according to the suit.
Weinstein invited Croft to his room to discuss a "business opportunity," she said in the lawsuit, and tried to convince Croft to try on clothes in front of him. When she refused and tried to return to her room, Weinstein initially blocked the door, then followed her out, pushed his way into her room, and digitally penetrated her, according to the complaint, before a phone call from Dolan interrupted.
When she later told Dolan about what happened, Croft recalled, per her lawsuit, that Dolan told her "that Weinstein was 'a troubled person' that had a lot of 'serious issues,' but that his friends were 'trying to get him to address' those issues. Dolan intimated that Weinstein was not a 'safe' person[.]"
In response to the allegations, Dolan's lawyer told Deadline:
“There is absolutely no merit to any of the allegations against Mr. Dolan. Kellye Croft and James Dolan had a friendship. The references to Harvey Weinstein are simply meant to inflame and appear to be plagiarized from prior cases against Mr. Weinstein. These claims reflect an act of retaliation by an attorney who has brought multiple cases against Mr. Dolan and has not won, and cannot win, a judgment against him. Mr. Dolan always believed Ms. Croft to be a good person and is surprised she would agree to these claims. Bottom line, this is not a he said/she said matter and there is compelling evidence to back up our position. We look forward to proving that in court.”
An attorney for Weinstein, who is currently serving 23 years for a variety of sex crimes, said, "Mr. Weinstein vehemently denies these meritless allegations and looks forward to litigating these claims in a court of law where the truth will be revealed."
The full complaint can be read below or by clicking here.
