A lady is suing former Los Angeles Lakers participant and coach Byron Scott, accusing him of sexually assaulting her throughout a staff occasion at her highschool in 1987, when he was 26 and she or he was 15.
The lawsuit first filed in December 2022 and amended on Might 1 accuses Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. Scott, 64, fought to have his title faraway from court docket paperwork, however a decide denied his request to be recognized solely as “John Doe.” The up to date grievance named him publicly for the primary time.
Throughout a go to from the Lakers, the alleged sufferer was attending summer season courses at Campbell Corridor Excessive in Los Angeles when “she was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor’s closet in the highschool gymnasium,” in keeping with the court docket submitting. Scott was a Lakers participant on the time.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 beneath a California regulation that quickly allowed older circumstances to be filed for underage plaintiffs. That regulation required the defendant to stay nameless till sure thresholds had been crossed.
Scott’s lawyer, Linda Bauermeister, stated her consumer doesn’t deny that sexual contact occurred, however maintains he thought the lady was of authorized age.
READ | Warriors sideline Stephen Curry for a minimum of per week with hamstring pressure
“Our consumer is devastated by this grievance,” Bauermeister stated in a press release Wednesday. “Our consumer believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no thought she would declare in any other case till 35 years later. He respects women and girls, and the claims have blindsided him and his household.”
Scott was married to his first spouse, Anita Scott, on the time of the alleged assault. That they had three youngsters and divorced in 2014.
The lawsuit stated the alleged assault occurred in the summertime of 1987 when the Lakers had been on the college to movie an tutorial basketball video within the fitness center and meet with college students, mother and father and school members.
A decide dominated final August that Scott could possibly be recognized, and final week the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed the amended grievance naming him.
The go well with additionally names Campbell Corridor Excessive, accusing college officers of negligence for failing to guard the lady. It calls for a trial by jury and over USD 25,000 for damages together with lack of earnings and lawyer charges to be paid by Scott and the college. A message was despatched Wednesday to high school officers looking for touch upon the lawsuit.
Scott, a capturing guard, received NBA championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988 as a part of the Lakers’ “Showtime” period. He led the staff in scoring with a career-best 21.7 factors in 1987-88.
Scott additionally performed for the Indiana Pacers and then-Vancouver Grizzlies earlier than returning to the Lakers for the 1996-97 season, his final as a participant within the league. He was a valued mentor for a staff that featured Shaquille O’Neal and 18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant. Scott later was Bryant’s head coach with the Lakers.
He coached within the NBA from 1998 to 2016, together with a head stint with the Lakers. He’s presently teaching within the Philippines.
Scott is presently married to Cece Gutierrez, who has appeared on the “Basketball Wives” actuality present.