Luke Walton, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach, facing lawsuit
By Ronald Agers
Luke Walton, the former head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, is facing a lawsuit from former SportsNet LA reporter, Kelli Tennant.
Former Los Angeles Lakers and current Sacramento Kings head coach, Luke Walton, has a lawsuit filed against him for sexual assault according to TMZ. The alleged victim is former SportsNet LA reporter Kelli Tennant, who states in documents that back in 2016, Walton forcibly got on top of her on the bed pinning her on the bed against her will.
The two reportedly had a business relationship and were supposed to be discussing a book that Tennant was writing. It was alleged that Walton was supposed to write the foreword for the book. Walton allegedly convinced Tennant to come to his hotel room where the incident happened.
This action supposedly happened BEFORE Walton was the head coach of the Lakers. At the time, Walton was still the assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors.
Tania Ganguli has been all over the story since it broke and states the Los Angeles Lakers had no idea about the incident.
A Lakers source says that the allegations against Luke Walton, which were said to have happened before the Lakers hired him, were never reported to the Lakers, and consequently had no bearing on Walton's job status.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) April 23, 2019
Even though Tennant did not report the assault at the time, she stated in documents that the unwanted advances continued while she was on the job. The Sacramento Kings organization did release a statement on the matter.
The Kings have issued a statement regarding sexual assault allegations against their new coach, Luke Walton, as reported by TMZ.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 23, 2019
"We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time."
Luke Walton recently left the Lakers after three seasons before parting ways a few days after the season. Kelli Tennant covered the Lakers and the Dodgers in her tenure with SportsNet LA. Now she is doing a podcast called Ceremony Wellness.
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The contract of the Kings contract has not been disclosed but it does run through the 2022-23 season. The Los Angeles Lakers released a statement on the matter via NBA.com.
"“This alleged incident took place before Luke Walton was the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. At no time before or during his employment here was this allegation reported to the Lakers. If it had been, we would have immediately commenced an investigation and notified the NBA. Since Luke Walton is now under contract to another team, we will have no further comment.”"
The NBA has opened its own investigation and it is been made clear to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that this incident has nothing to do with why the team parted ways with Luke Walton.
This is a fluid situation and the situation is being investigated. We here at Lake Show Life would appreciate any comments below being done without malice. Allow the investigation to run its course and we will update you as quickly as we can.
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Again, please keep the comments respectful to both parties and their families.