NEW YORK -- Courtrooms are supposed to be serious places, with futures decided and, in many cases, lives literally hanging in the balance. So why was it so difficult for the crowd that packed into Courtroom 23A at the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan on Monday to keep a straight face?
It's because that group wasn't witnessing a serious trial.
That crowd, comprised mostly of journalists and -- based on the number of hugs she gave out -- friends of Anucha Browne Sanders, the former Knicks executive who is suing club president-coach Isiah Thomas for sexual harassment and the team for wrongful termination, was witnessing a farce of a trial that Judge Judy wouldn't touch.
This trial is growing more ridiculous by the day. Monday's testimony (if that's what you want to call it) included cross-examination by attorneys for Madison Square Garden that was so compelling, one of the jurors actually fell asleep. Couldn't really blame him, though. By my estimation, in the nearly three hours Browne Sanders was cross-examined by Garden attorneys, she revealed that she thought Knicks assistant coach Herb Williams was "too nice" and that Thomas might have too close a relationship with Stephon Marbury. Shocking revelations.
What's worse, U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch (whose own impatience is an accurate barometer for the rest of the gallery) actually acknowledged the juror's attempt to snooze his way through the trial and urged the defense lawyer to pick up the pace. "I saw one juror nodding off this morning," Lynch said after the jury stepped out for its mid-morning break. "Let's move this along."
To where, though? While Thomas' attorneys have done a credible job turning the claims against Thomas into a he-said, she-said war of words, the Garden's attempts to prove that Browne Sanders was fired for incompetence have been laughable. On Monday, Garden attorneys produced a series of e-mails that were critical of Browne Sanders' job performance. While the e-mails certainly didn't paint Browne Sanders in the most positive light (one e-mail from Garden CEO Steve Mills criticized Brown Sanders for asking why former Knicks vice president of basketball operations Frank Murphy was placed ahead of her in the team's media guide), nothing the defense said on Monday came close to proving Browne Sanders was incompetent.
A little misguided? Sure. Even Browne Sanders admits her idea to have Thomas hand-sign 4,500 letters to season-ticket holders was a bad one. Somewhat of a shady character? The defense cornered her into admitting she cheated on her tax returns, a potentially damaging development, so I'll buy that one, too. But the fact remains that Browne Sanders received more than $217,000 in bonuses and still has "glowing" reviews to point to, which is compelling evidence in a wrongful termination suit.
The defense also isn't earning any points with the jury with its sometimes-bizarre line of questioning. On Monday, defense lawyers basically accused Browne Sanders of being upset with Thomas because he did not seek her input on the night of the NBA Draft, the same way former Knicks VP Scott Layden once did. Really. The personnel boss doesn't ask the director of marketing for advice on draft picks? I'm stunned. Lawyers for Thomas looked foolish trying to get Browne Sanders to come up with an example where Thomas referred to her as a bitch "in the middle of the sentence." Not the beginning. Not the end. The middle. I caught at least one juror rolling her eyes at that.
The defense also attempted to discredit Browne Sanders' assertion that Thomas did not want players involved with many marketing campaigns because being an NBA player is "stressful." Right. Waking up at 10 a.m. to go to practice, flying on charter jets, staying in five-star hotels and earning seven- and eight-figure incomes to play basketball seven-to-nine months a year sounds like it can take years off your life.
While this trial is far from over -- in all likelihood, the jury won't begin deliberating until next week -- the Knicks have a lot of ground to make up if they hope to salvage anything from this ordeal.
