Golden State Warriors Release Statement On Pending Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Golden State Warriors President & Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts has released a statement on behalf of the Warriors in regard to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Warriors guard Monta Ellis.

"The Golden State Warriors take seriously any allegations of harassment. Let me make this extremely clear: The Warriors strive every day to provide a comfortable and professional work environment for all of our employees.

When our new owners arrived in November 2010, we set a path for the organization to be the best in the NBA and an organization we are proud of. We are committed to achieving that goal and we work daily to ensure it happens.

When we were made aware of a consensual relationship between Mr. Ellis and the Plaintiff, we did what an organization should do. We told both to stop – promptly, directly and fairly. The Warriors have never taken any action against the Plaintiff for any inappropriate reason, and we deny the allegations she is making.

We live in a litigious society in which lawsuits too frequently are driven by money and not the pursuit of justice. We will vigorously defend the reputation of the Warriors organization in the courts. We don’t plan to make any further comment about the details of the case."

The interesting thing worth noting is that the Warriors refer to the relationship between Ellis and his accuser as a "consensual relationship." In the lawsuit, the accuser admits that there was no relationship between her and Ellis, only an illicit texting one.

The accuser alleges that the Warriors — who she believes were informed of Ellis' texting in January 2011 by Ellis' wife, Juanika — conspired to protect Ellis and cover up his harassment. The alleged incidents took place in November of 2010 and Ellis was married to Juanika in July of 2010.

For more on this story and the Warriors, head to Golden State of Mind.