Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
WHITFIELD: Before the break we talked about the high-profile sexual allegations involving Justice Thomas and how it still makes an impact today. Now, fast forward to the latest high-profile case involving an NBA legend and an $11 million settlement. It has the Reverend Al Sharpton speaking out, demanding even more from Isiah Thomas. Sharpton is threatening to picket New York Knicks games unless Thomas apologizes for saying it is OK for black men to degrade black women with vulgar language.</s>REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: But this season can't open in this city where women of any color and women in the black community being discussed here feels that it matters who's calling you a B rather than it matters somebody is calling you a B. That's the point. And whether it is a hip-hopper, whether it's a rapper, rocker, coach, Imus, we will have one standard in this movement.</s>WHITFIELD: So, Thomas' offending remarks were made on a deposition tape played at his sexual harassment trial. Sharpton says Thomas told him the tape had been doctored. So let's go in-depth on the Isiah Thomas case. A jury ruled this week that the New York Knicks' president and coach sexually harassed an employee. His employer has been ordered to pay millions in damages. Here's Allan Chernoff.</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A huge victory in court for former New York Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders, who claimed Knicks coach Isiah Thomas had verbally abused her and even came onto her, trying to kiss her. She was fired after complaining to her employer of Thomas' behavior.</s>ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, PLAINTIFF: What I did here, I did for every working woman in America. And that includes everyone who gets up and goes to work in the morning, everyone that aspires to be in a corporate environment.</s>CHERNOFF: Jurors found Thomas liable of subjecting Browne Sanders to a hostile work environment, and found Madison Square Garden, owner of the Knicks, and James Dolan, chairman of the parent company, liable of the same, as well as retaliating against the plaintiff. The jury awarded Browne Sanders damages of $8.6 million from MSG and $3 million from Dolan, amounts that the judge has the authority to change. Jurors were deadlocked on whether Thomas should have to pay damages. The Knicks' coach, who denied Browne Sanders' accusations, is promising to appeal.</s>ISIAH THOMAS, HEAD COACH, NEW YORK KNICKS: I'm very innocent. And I did not do the things that she accused me in this courtroom of doing. I'm extremely disappointed that the jury could not see the facts in this case.</s>CHERNOFF: MSG said: "We believe the jury's decision was incorrect and plan to vigorously appeal the verdict." The trial portrayed the Knicks' organization as a basketball animal house. Star player Stephon Marbury testified in court to having sex with a Knicks intern in his truck and cursing at Browne Sanders. (on camera): The case has been a big distraction for the Knicks and is likely to continue hanging over the team. Training camp started on Tuesday without head coach Isiah Thomas. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.</s>WHITFIELD: So, what do the Isiah Thomas case and the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas dispute tell us about laws against sexual harassment in the workplace? Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good it see you. And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good it see you, as well.</s>RICHARD HERMAN, :LAW PROFESSOR: Hi, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, you guys, I know you were pretty riled up about these cases because cases will do that to anyone. So let's talk about the parallels in these cases even though you talk about one that actually went to court, there was a settlement. The other one didn't go to court but it was certainly played out on the public stage. So, Avery, are there real parallels here?</s>AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Well, other than the last name, yes. As a matter of fact, the Clarence Thomas case gave rise as a result of what happened in August of 1991 to the passage of the law that was used to prosecute Isiah Thomas in 2007. The difference between the laws back then and the laws today are profoundly different and the fact is now that it's much easier for women to stand up and fight back and, basically, Anucha is going to strike fear -- that name, in the hearts of every moron that does this to women in the workplace.</s>WHITFIELD: Richard, do you see it that way too? I mean, this is more than Thomas squared. We're dealing with more than just the common names of Thomas here.</s>HERMAN: Yes, we are. And Avery is right on the law there. And you know, Fred, I see Isiah Thomas say, these facts are not true and I'm going to take an appeal. Well, the facts are not the issue on appeal and the old Isiah has been a disgrace for the Knicks since he has come. The Knicks are a horrible basketball team.</s>WHITFIELD: Ow. Boy, that's harsh.</s>HERMAN: He has done nothing for them. Their record is atrocious, in New York City, the Mecca of basketball. And for this to happen like this, this unbelievable bad mark on the Knicks. And, I'll tell you, this Al Sharpton, though, with him blasting his head off here, it's amazing that he's demanding an apology from Isiah Thomas when he, himself, never apologized for the Tawana Brawley mess.</s>FRIEDMAN: Come on, you're getting it all mixed up, man.</s>FRIEDMAN: We're dealing with sexual harassment here. Isiah Thomas actually said after the verdict that the tape was doctored. Can you believe that? I mean...</s>HERMAN: Hey, listen, Fred, it was...</s>WHITFIELD: So how do you dispute that one?</s>HERMAN: It was a deposition. The question was, is it proper for a white person to call a black woman the B word? And he said, no. And then they said, what about if a black person did it to a black woman -- a black man to a black woman? And he said, it's not as bad. That's the entire testimony. That's it.</s>WHITFIELD: And even though the outcomes are very different in these two, you know, cases that we're drawing parallels, Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and now Isiah Thomas, et cetera, is there something that perhaps Anita Hill and Isiah Thomas actually have in common? I mean, for one, they're both calling themselves the folks that are on the losing end of these disputes.</s>FRIEDMAN: Well, the difference though is Anita Hill can take great pride in the fact that she brought this very poignant issue of what woman suffer in the workplace to the American public. And as a result of her testimony, Congress changed the law, the president signed the law. So, in a way, she really is a winner. Isiah Thomas is nothing other than a loser.</s>HERMAN: And Anita Hill should hang her head high. I mean, it took a lot of guts for her to stand up before Congress and testify like she did. She had no dog in that fight. She did not benefit from that. She just told the truth. And I find...</s>FRIEDMAN: Although the book said that she did, there was no evidence to support it.</s>HERMAN: Right. And I find Clarence Thomas on "60 MINUTES" just unbelievably a disgrace when it comes to this.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Guys, we're out of time. But I think -- Anita Hill, I think when she said, you know, that she lost, she was like, well, this guy ended up getting a job for life. I mean, so in the end, I guess, in her view, he really did win even though she did help...</s>FRIEDMAN: Well, she's a winner. She's a winner, Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: ... set it stage for everybody else, too. All right. Thanks so much, Richard and Avery, we're out of time. Sorry to cut you off, got to go, see you next weekend.</s>FRIEDMAN: All right, Fred, take care.</s>HERMAN: OK, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. And you can get more of the Isiah Thomas and Knicks' lawsuit on cnn.com. We've got pages and pages of court documents from the case. There is a lot to read, including the graphic language that Thomas is accused of using. You can read through it for yourself and then see what you think. Just log on to cnn.com/us. And we're back right after this.