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The Sacramento Kings and the NBA announced Thursday that they have opened a joint investigation into the civil charges against coach Luke Walton for sexual assault against a woman in 2014.
"The Kings and the NBA take these charges very seriously and will work together to conduct a thorough and thorough investigation," said the team and the league in a statement.
The Kings investigation will be led by Sue Ann Van Dermyden, founding partner of the law firm Van Dermyden Maddux of Sacramento, and Jennifer Doughty, senior counsel for the firm.
The NBA survey will be conducted by Elizabeth Maringer, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Integrity and Investigations of the league.
Kelli Tennant – a former Spectrum SportsNet LA host, the Lakers regional sports network – claims that Walton, then assistant to the Golden State Warriors who was in Los Angeles during a car trip, assaulted her sexually in Santa Monica, California, hotel room. Tennant's lawyer says that it happened in 2014.
On Tuesday, Tennant said she was terrified by the fact that Walton was going to rape her and that she had not publicly disclosed those accusations earlier because she was scared.
Tennant has working relationships with Walton based on his experience as a guest analyst in Spectrum. As part of this lawsuit, she claims to have met at the Casa Del Mar hotel to drop him a copy of his book, "A Guide for Student-Athletes Making the Transition to a World Afterwards." sport ", for which he had written the preface.
Tennant alleges that Walton invited her to climb into her room, where he licked her against the bed and kissed her and fumbled her forcibly.
Tennant said she did not go to the police or speak to Spectrum officials at that time because she was only 25 years old and scared.
Walton's lawyer, Mark Baute, called the allegations "unfounded" and said Tennant was "an opportunist".
"These claims are false and Luke's innocence will be proven in court," Baute said in a statement released Wednesday. "[Tuesday’s] The press conference was a poorly organized attempt to present the accuser as a viable spokesman for a major movement. His lawyers want to create a public circus to divert their attention from the lack of evidence in support of their scandalous claims. We will not try this case in the media or pay them a cent. "
The Kings hired Walton earlier this month, shortly after the Lakers and he separated.
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