THE moment came somewhere between the time Isiah Thomas was said to call a woman a “bitch” and a “ho.” Or maybe it was “f- – -ing bitch mother f- – -er.”
In a courtroom that’s rapidly transforming into a cross between a basketball arena and a rap concert, where lawyers enunciate words better left in the toilet and spectators grapple with whether synonyms for female genitalia may be repeated, it happened.
Isiah laughed.
Since his trial began this week on charges of sexual harassment, Thomas has demonstrated a healthy disregard for decorum, and a beautiful mouthful of dental work. It was no different yesterday.
Anucha Browne Sanders took the witness stand, towering over Thomas’ 6-foot-1 frame in high heels. With beautiful diction, unerring grammar and the voice of a child, she unleashed the torrent of garbage she endured for two years.
“He was verbally hostile,” she began about Thomas, whom she claims drove her from her “dream job” with the Knicks. All because he couldn’t handle a woman with the fortitude, and height, to look him in the eye.
She said Isiah’s diatribes against her began with the word “bitch.”
“Bitch, I don’t give a f- – – about sponsors,” she said Thomas told her.
“He called me a bitch. He called me a f- – -ing bitch,” she said.
Immediately, it became clear that Thomas – a man who grew from poverty into a spoiled, overpaid, potty-mouthed jock – had never seen anything like her before.
She is elegant. Educated. Well-spoken. And black. And as she spoke, eloquently and painfully about her abuse, I looked over at Thomas, who stared as if she were an exotic plant.
He was laughing.
I’m glad someone around here is having a good time.
I asked Anucha if she was nervous.
“I feel great, absolutely,” she said outside court.
“I’m glad it’s here, and I have a chance to clear my name.”
Then she winked. “Stick around.”
The problem with the notion that Sanders was canned for cause was destroyed by evidence she presented: Until Thomas came along, Sanders’ performance evaluations were uniformly outstanding.
After he arrived, even the hired help – such as the cousin of Knicks star Stephon Marbury – were free to abuse. Hassan Gonzalves was fired after telling a woman on staff that he wanted her to perform oral sex on him.