A former team employee is suing Golden State Warriors player Monta Ellis and the Warriors for sexual harassment. According to court documents, the former employee claims she was sexually harassed, intimidated and stalked by the Warriors guard for multiple months. The sexual harassment suit also claims that the NBA team based in northern California failed to prevent the harassment and claims the team wrongfully terminated the employee.
The former employee, who used to be the director of community relations for the professional basketball team, alleges the Warriors guard harassed her with text messages not related to work using a “secret” cellphone.
Between November 17 and December 16, 2010 around 61 text messages were exchanged between the former employee and Ellis. Messages sent by the Warriors guard allegedly contained phrases like, “Hey Sexy” and “I want to be with you.” According to the suit, the former employee responded unenthusiastically.
On December 16, the team informed the former employee that Ellis complained about her work performance and she was given a warning. The following day, the former employee received a picture from Ellis over text that showed a man’s genitalia.
According to the suit, the employee worried her complaints would be ignored and she feared retaliation by the organization. Therefore she felt that she needed to “humor” the professional basketball player.
In February of 2011, the employee was allegedly encouraged to resign and the team took away work related to Monta Ellis. The suit also claims that the Warriors have hidden other sexual harassment claims.
Source: foxnews.com, “Woman sues Ellis, Warriors for harassment,” Dec. 21, 2011