And the Weiner Is . . .

The hot topic, given much more air time than the entire trial, of the day is that Isiah "Zeke" Thomas and the New York Knicks were found liable for sexually harassing Anucha Browne Sanders. (Check this post for a link to my previous trial coverage.) Interestingly, the jury decided that only the Knicks, and owner James Dolan, have to fork over the $11.6 million that they awarded her.

Here is the breakdown:

The Garden owes $6 million for condoning a hostile work environment and $2.6 million for retaliation. Dolan owes $3 million [personally].

That's right, Zeke doesn't have to pay a penny. And that is even more than the $10 million that she requested.

Hmm. Well, I can't say I'm completely shocked, despite what I wrote below, because like I said, you just never know what a jury sees and processes as truth. Plus, we did not have the benefit of seeing this trial for ourselves like we did with O.J. And let's face it: Had you not seen the entire O.J. trial, you probably wouldn't have seen any way that they could have found him not guilty, either.

Having not watched the trial, I underestimated the effect that a-holes bad witnesses can have on a case. If the jury feels that a witness is being flippant, cold, uncaring, or is just flat out lying, then s/he could be talking about how their pet rabbit got decapitated (true story) and the jury wouldn't believe it.

I think that's what happened here. Zeke and Jimmy Boy, aka Dolan, most likely tried to come out smelling like roses, but when you have really bad facts (i.e., that you think it's not so bad to call a woman a b*tch), if you get on the stand acting like the perfect person, most juries are going to call BS. I'm not familiar with Dolan, but if the jury felt that only he and Knicks should be responsible, that tells me that they thought Dolan was the mastermind who sanctioned the inappropriate behavior, and Zeke was just the "jerk" (the jury's thoughts, not mine) he hired who fit his management style.

And take heart, Knicks fans (all three of you), $11.6 million is nothing compared to the $20 million they paid Allan Houston to sleep and pick his teeth.

Even though Isiah doesn't have to pay anything right now, you better believe that a club will think three times about hiring him with this highlight on his resume. Especially if they don't have the cash to throw around like the Knicks. And Isiah thought he had a tough time getting hired before this case.

I'm interested to see how the NBA will handle this. Bash a ref, you get a fine. Leave the bench to break up a fight, you also get a fine. Wear baggy jeans and a fitted, you're getting fined, too. But sexually harass your employees? Then the NBA says police yourself. If you really, truly care about the NBA's image, David Stern, then as the NBA commissioner, I think you just might want to address this one. Or not. (Law)suit yourself.