Judge isn’t ‘entirely’ OK with keeping NBA photo case a secret
By Julia Marsh
May 6, 2016 | 1:35am
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A Manhattan judge said Thursday she’s “not entirely comfortable” with confidentiality in a sex-harassment suit against the NBA, no matter how embarrassing the documents might be to league officials.
Rookie training materials — including an image of an obese woman bedding a skinny man underneath the warning, “REASON NOT TO GET DRUNK” — are among the items the NBA has tried to hide from the public in a lawsuit filed by a fired security chief.
The NBA also wants to seal depositions where its officials make embarrassing statements, said attorney Randolph McLaughlin, who represents ex-security guard Warren Glover.
Glover says he was fired in 2011 after standing up for harassed female colleagues.
“I had the responsibility to do the right thing. That’s something I learned in the NYPD,” the former police lieutenant said.
Other sensitive materials include a deposition by Annette Smith, Glover’s former assistant, who settled a sexual-harassment suit with the NBA.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings, who has yet to rule, leaned Thursday toward supporting an open-court process.
“I’m not entirely comfortable with these stipulations to confidentiality . . . without giving the public any opportunity to be heard,” she said.