Former Los Angeles Lakers player and coach Byron Scott has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 1987, according to a lawsuit obtained by the Los Angeles Times. At the time, the alleged victim was a student at Campbell Hall High School, and Scott was playing for the Lakers.
According to the suit, Scott and the rest of the Lakers were filming an instructional video at Campbell Hall on the day of the alleged incident. Scott, then 26, is accused of assaulting the woman after talking to her during a break and getting a tour of the school.
The woman alleges that, after getting her alone in the janitor’s closet, Scott “began kissing her on the mouth as she repeatedly asked ‘What are you doing?'”
The suit goes on to accuse Scott of pushing the woman, then 15, to her knees and taking off her top. The woman also claims Scott “exposed his erect penis, and tried to force [her] to perform oral sex on him.”
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Scott’s attorney Linda Bauermeister says the former Laker was under the impression the woman was over 18 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
“Our client is devastated by this complaint, a basketball event that took place in 1987,” Bauermeister wrote in the statement. “Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family.”
The woman’s lawsuit claims that she has been forced to “deal with the trauma privately” over the years, and she is now seeking “closure.”
The suit also blames the school for putting the woman in a position to be assaulted, saying it has caused her “severe psychological and emotional distress, as well as feelings of embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, shame, and humiliation,”
Scott played for the Lakers from 1983-1993, and he rejoined the team for his final NBA season in 1996-97. In 2014, Scott was named the coach of the Lakers, but he was fired after two seasons and a 38-126 record.
