Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley sued the Knicks Wednesday in federal court, claiming the team “saved millions” by sending him to a doctor “they knew would disqualify him from playing” due to a heart condition soon after trading for him in 2008.
Mobley claims the Knicks pulled that stunt to save money in payments toward the NBA’s “luxury tax” for teams with high payrolls, and also to clear “room under the salary cap in their request to retain the services of other [marquee] players.”
“Mobley’s career was effectively ended,” says the disability discrimination suit in Manhattan federal court filed by the retired journeyman guard, who before being signed by the Knicks in 2008 had played for the Los Angeles Clippers, leading them to within a game of the Western Conference Finals in 2006.He also played for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings.
The Knicks strongly denied the claims.
Mobley’s lawsuit claims that he was first diagnosed in 1999 with a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — a thickening of the heart wall — and that he was thereafter “medically cleared every year, by every NBA team he played for, subject only to his signing a waiver of liability, until his arrival at the Knicks.” The suit said “the Knicks were aware of his HCM condition when they agreed to take over his contract.”
But, the suit said as a means to save about $19 million in league luxury tax payments and in insurance coverage for his inability to play, the Knicks selected two cardiologists to evaluate him, who were “both well-known opponents of allowing players with HCM to play.”
Those doctors then “opined that Mobley should not play,” the suit said.
“Mobley was forced and pressured by the Knicks to announce his retirement” in December 2008 — without every playing a second for the squad — the suit said.
The Knicks, in a statement, strongly denied the allegations that they purposely engineered Mobley’s disqualification from playing as a means to save $19 million in related luxury tax and and salary costs. And the contention in the suit that Mobley’s retirement helped them get under the salary cap to sign players is flawed. Mobley’s contract expired after the 2008-2009 season and the Knicks were attempting to get under the cap to sign players by the summer of 2010. Mobley’s retirement was irrelevant to that strategy.
“Although we understand Cuttino Mobley’s frustration with the effects of his illness, we are extremely disappointed in his recent actions,” a Knicks spokesman said.
“When the Knicks obtained Cuttino in November of 2008, the team fully expected him to be our starting shooting guard. It was a significant set-back to our team when we learned he would not be able to play following initial reports from his physical. The team and Cuttino agreed he would then see top experts, including doctors at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and additional experts, for various opinions.”
“On the day of his retirement, Cuttino publicly stated that he had no choice but to follow the advice of the doctors and step away from the league. We are confident Cuttino’s claims have no merit and will not prevail,” the spokesman said.
A source close to the team backed that account, saying team then-Knicks president Donnie Walsh was “devastated” by Mobley’s retirement.