Former NBA Champion Accused Of S*xual Assault In Lawsuit

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Former NBA player and head coach Byron Scott faces a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her nearly 40 years ago.

Scott played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1983 to 1993, winning three NBA championships.

He was also a head coach in the NBA from 2000 to 2016.

The woman alleges that Scott sexually assaulted her during an event at her high school in 1987.

The accuser was 15 at the time, while Scott was 26.

Per USA TODAY:

According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the woman accuses the now 64-year-old Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The original lawsuit was filed in 2022 under the California Child Victim’s Act, which extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors to file civil claims. Scott sought to keep his name out of the documents and requested to use “John Doe.”

The lawsuit says the Lakers were visiting the accuser’s high school, Campbell Hall High in Los Angeles, where she was taking summer classes, after which she “was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor’s closet in the high school gymnasium.” The team was at the school filming instructional basketball videos in the gym and met with the parents, students and teachers.

“Our client is devastated by this complaint,” Scott’s attorney Linda Bauermeister said in a statement. “Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family.”

Bauermeister says her client thought the girl was of legal age and doesn’t deny that the sexual activity occurred.

From the Associated Press:

Scott was married to his first wife, Anita Scott, at the time of the alleged assault. They had three children and divorced in 2014.

The lawsuit said the alleged assault occurred in the summer of 1987 when the Lakers were at the school to film an instructional basketball video in the gym and meet with students, parents and faculty members.

A judge ruled last August that Scott could be identified, and last week the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed the amended complaint naming him.

The suit also names Campbell Hall High, accusing school officials of negligence for failing to protect the girl. It demands a trial by jury and over $25,000 for damages including loss of earnings and attorney fees to be paid by Scott and the school. A message was sent Wednesday to school officials seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Scott, a shooting guard, won NBA championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988 as part of the Lakers’ “Showtime” era. He led the team in scoring with a career-best 21.7 points in 1987-88.

Scott also played for the Indiana Pacers and then-Vancouver Grizzlies before returning to the Lakers for the 1996-97 season, his last as a player in the league. He was a valued mentor for a team that featured Shaquille O’Neal and 18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant. Scott later was Bryant’s head coach with the Lakers.

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