Luke Walton accuser drops lawsuit against former Lakers coach
Former Spectrum SportsNet reporter Kelli Tennant filed to have her lawsuit against Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton dismissed this week, according to a document filed in the L.A. County Superior Court.
The request came nearly four months after the NBA’s investigation into Tennant’s allegations of sexual assault against Walton found insufficient evidence to support Tennant’s claims. Tennant did not cooperate with the league’s investigation.
“I can confirm we received the dismissal and it’s nice to see that it was voluntarily and permanently dismissed by the claimant,†Walton’s agent Mark Baute said in a statement.
The Kings also released a statement from Walton: “I remain 100 percent focused on coaching the Kings and will have no further comment.â€
Tennant had accused Walton of sexually assaulting her in his hotel room while he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. Walton later went on to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Tennant alleged that he intimidated her throughout his time as the Lakers head coach.
Walton’s attorneys filed a response denying Tennant’s allegations as a whole as well as specific portions of the complaint, such as the nature and date of the interaction during which Tennant said Walton assaulted her.
Walton played for the Lakers from 2003 to 2012, and then entered coaching. He was an assistant coach for the Warriors from 2014 to 2016 when the Lakers gave him his first head coaching job. The Lakers were a lottery team in each of Walton’s three years coaching them. He and the team parted ways after the 2018-19 season, and Walton became the Kings head coach the next day.
Attorneys for Tennant and Walton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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