Sprewell to refile lawsuit against NBA
Posted: Friday August 28, 1998 08:48 PM
| |
Sprewell had claimed in the original lawsuit that his suspension was racially discriminatory and violated his right to make a living AP |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Latrell
Sprewell is going back to court, less than a month after a judge threw
out his original lawsuit against the Golden State Warriors and the National
Basketball Association.
A spokesman for Sprewell said Friday that the former All-Star guard,
who was suspended for most of last season after choking coach P.J.
Carlesimo during a practice, will hold a news conference next Monday to
announce he is refiling the lawsuit.
The suit will attack the NBA's suspension and seek monetary damages, as
well as claiming the NBA engaged in destruction of evidence and fraudulent
activities, Sprewell spokesman Steve Hopcraft said.
NBA officials could not be reached late Friday afternoon for
comment.
But Frank Rothman, a lawyer for the NBA, said during a hearing on the
original lawsuit that Sprewell should have been suspended for life.
"He choked his head coach, he threatened to kill him, left bruises and
scars," and returned after 20 minutes for a second attack, Rothman said
during the hearing.
Sprewell's original $30 million lawsuit was dismissed July 30 by U.S.
District Judge Vaughn Walker, who left room for the suit to be revived but
said Sprewell's attorneys should seriously consider dropping the
matter.
Sprewell had claimed in the original lawsuit that his suspension was
racially discriminatory and violated his right to make a living. Walker
gave Sprewell's attorneys 30 days to tie their legal claims more closely to
the facts of the case.
Sprewell was suspended for 10 games by the Warriors following the
attack on Carlesimo at a practice last December. The team then decided to
terminate the final three years of his contract, potentially costing him
$24 million.
The NBA added a one-year suspension to those penalties, lasting until
December 1998.
But after a lengthy hearing, arbitrator John Feerick ruled in March
that the league's punishment was excessive, and ordered Sprewell reinstated
July 1 -- cutting his suspension to 68 games.
Feerick also voided the Warriors' termination of the contract, making
Sprewell a member of the team again.
Sprewell is expected to apologize to Carlesimo and fans again Monday
for what Hopcraft called his "rash attack" on the coach.
Hopcraft said Sprewell's suit will not dispute the Warriors' 10-game
suspension and resultant loss of $1 million in salary. But the suit will
claim the NBA's 68-game suspension, which Sprewell claims cost him $6.4
million, was unfair.
The suit seeks to cap the penalty on Sprewell at $1 million, and seeks
$5.4 million back from the NBA.
"It does name both the Warriors and the league, though it does not
contest the Warriors' action," Hopcraft said of the lawsuit.
The refiled lawsuit will add three new defendants, all NBA officials,
and accuse the league of destroying evidence that would have tended to
support Sprewell, Hopcraft said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
