Federal Lawsuit Against James Dolan Dismissed; Plaintiff Ordered to Cover Defendants' Legal Costs, Judge Rules

Wednesday, September 18th, 2024

On Tuesday, a judge dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who accused James Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden and governor of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, of unwanted sexual advances nearly a decade ago. The lawsuit also alleged that Dolan facilitated an encounter with Harvey Weinstein, who the woman claimed sexually assaulted her.

The lawsuit was dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge in California, as revealed in a three-page filing obtained by ESPN on Tuesday night.

The lawsuit was originally filed in January by Kellye Croft, a Tennessee woman who said she was 27 and working as a licensed massage therapist when she met Dolan in the fall of 2013 during a tour with the rock band the Eagles. Dolan's band, JD & The Straight Shot, opened for the Eagles during the tour.

In her claims, Croft alleged that Dolan pressured her into unwanted sexual intercourse. She also stated that in January 2014, Dolan arranged for her to travel to Los Angeles to join the tour, which she later amended to allege constituted sex trafficking, a federal crime.

In Los Angeles, Croft claimed she met Weinstein at The Beverly Hills Hotel, where Dolan had paid for her stay. She alleged that Weinstein introduced himself as one of Dolan's "best friends" and asked if she was the massage therapist Dolan had praised. Croft accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her at the hotel and said she informed Dolan, who allegedly responded by saying Weinstein was "a troubled person" with "serious issues." This incident occurred before Weinstein’s conviction for years of sexual abuse, revealed by investigative reports in 2017 by The New York Times and The New Yorker.

The alleged incident also happened before Dolan stated he was unaware Weinstein, who had been a close friend, was a serial abuser of women. In 2018, Dol

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