10:41pm: The Warriors, who employed Walton as an assistant coach before he was hired by the Lakers, say they were unaware of the alleged incident, per a statement passed along by the New York Times’ Marc Stein (Twitter link). “We became aware of the alleged incident and story this evening and are in the process of seeking more information. We’ll have no further comment at this time.”
10:18pm: An ESPN report from Dave McMenamin gives a conflicting timeline, saying the alleged incident happened before Walton was named Lakers coach in April 2016. “No one ever reported it to the team,” a source told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “And that is not why the team parted ways with him.”
8:39pm: New Kings head coach and former Lakers coach Luke Walton is being sued by a female reporter for an alleged sexual assault in May 2017, according to a TMZ report relayed by Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer.
Kelli Tennant, a reporter who previously worked for Spectrum Sportsnet LA, claims that Walton assaulted her in a hotel room in Santa Monica while discussing a book she was writing.
The lawsuit reportedly asserts that Walton forcibly kissed Tennant and rubbed his body against her despite pleas to stop.
Tennant claims she did not initially report the alleged assault since she had to continually interact with him because of her job, according to TMZ.
Tennant left Spectrum Sportsnet LA that year. She now works for Amazon Prime, covering the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour, and also has a podcast focusing on women’s issues.
The accusation casts a shadow over Walton and his swift hiring by Sacramento GM Vlade Divac.
The Kings issued a statement, Sam Amick of The Athletic tweets, which states, “We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time.”
That was 2 years ago!!!!
She has to get it in before the statue of limitation expires. Not suspicious at all
Yep. It’s two years in California I believe depending on this situation. Suspicious for sure!
Statute not statue. There isn’t a monument of limits.
There should be tbh. If the limit is 2 years then there should be a statue of a 2 year old child. Then do the same for each felony crime.
This entire season was a monument of limits for Walton.
Yeah my bad lol
So she’s suing him but not trying to press charges ?
You can’t rub your body on women Luke! Luke Walton not HR Luke.
Sounds like someone wants a pay day. It’s cheaper and less damaging to pay her to go away. He could very well be guilty and this is legit, but there are people out there who understand how to work the system, and they do.
This is a civil suit designed to either harass Walton or (more likely) to compel a settlement for a pay day. Hard to believe she has evidence of a sexual assault or, even if she does, any damages. But if she gets past summary judgement, she can tie him up for a year or more with this. Practically, in his position, he has to settle if her ask isn’t outrageous.
The only thing that might suggest he shouldn’t settle is it will be a matter of record that he settled a sexual assault case. A civil suit only, but in this environment, he may think it won’t go away when she does.
Even if it gets dismissed because evidence shows he was on a solo expedition in Antarctica at the time the alleged incident took place… it’ll always be floating around out there because, well, maybe she got the date wrong.
He was trying to score with the Lakers for years too.
What a scumbag. Walton should be tossed out of the league. Enough with the pervs. What is he, a Mavs guy?
zing!
He got the madmanTX death penalty so that must make it true. How are Walker Buehler and Alex Verdugo doing for the Rangers? Oh wait
This doesn’t sound legitimate at all. Women seeking a payday directly harm woman who have actually been assaulted. Just plain sad.
Here’s a little advice for women: never go to a man’s hotel room alone. Even if he didn’t do anything, he’s probably screwed.
Good riddance! Bad coach! Worst human being!
BELIEVE. WOMEN.