The NBA has issued a statement regarding a recent allegation of sexual assault against Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton.
“We are coordinating with the Kings organization and are in the process of gathering more information,” it reads, per Bill Oram of The Athletic.
Celebrity gossip site TMZ reported on Monday that a civil lawsuit filed by Kelli Tennant alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Walton in April 2016, shortly before he was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Tennant was a host on Spectrum SportsNet LA, the Lakers' regional sports network, at the time of the alleged assault.
The lawsuit states that Tennant was assaulted by Walton, then an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, at the Casa Del Mar Hotel after she dropped off a copy of her forthcoming book, for which he provided the foreword. Walton purportedly invited Tennant to his hotel room so they wouldn't be seen by Warriors players. Upon getting there, he allegedly pinned her to the hotel bed, forcibly kissing and groping her.
The suit also accuses Walton of forcing an “aggressive hug” on Tennant and making lewd remarks about her attire at a charity event one year later.
Walton's attorney, Mark Baute, released a statement calling Tennant “an opportunist, not a victim,” insisting her allegations were “baseless.”
Walton, 39, signed a four-year deal to become the Kings head coach earlier this month. Just a few days earlier, he mutually agreed to part ways with the Lakers, with whom he'd spent the previous three seasons.
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