Golden State Warriors Reaches Settlement With Former Employee

The Golden State Warriors came to a settlement agreement with the former employee who filed a lawsuit claiming she was wrongfully terminated and sexually harassed by former Warriors guard Monta Ellis—who she alleged sent her explicit unwanted text messages that included a picture of his genitals.

Ellis has since been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks after the salacious story hit the news. The employee Erika Smith, a former community relations director for the Warriors, reached a settlement agreement with the team, according to her attorney Burt Boltuch, who said he is not at liberty to disclose the terms.

”Ms. Smith is looking to move on with her career,” Boltuch said yesterday.

But the Warriors were a bit more aggressive in their statement.

“The claims of Ms. Smith were dismissed in their entirety,” team spokesman Ray Ridder said.

Smith said she was terminated last August after she made the team aware of the several dozen explicit messages Ellis sent her between November 2010 and January 2011. Smith alleged that the team’s management attempted to cover up Ellis’ actions.

Team officials denied Smith’s allegations and said when they were made aware of a consensual relationship between Ellis and Smith, they told them both to stop.

 

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