Former Los Angeles Lakers role player and NBA head coach Byron Scott is being sued for an alleged 1987 sexual assault, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The lawsuit, which was first filed in California in December of 2022 and amended earlier this month, accuses Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The amendment earlier this month included Scott’s name, which he fought to have removed from the complaint prior to the release of the amended lawsuit. A judge denied Scott’s request.
According to the complaint, Scott, who was 26 at the time, sexually assaulted the then-15-year-old victim in the janitor’s closet of the Campbell Hall High School gymnasium in Los Angeles. Scott was a member of the Lakers at the time of the assault, which took place during the Lakers’ offseason. Lakers players were filing an instructional basketball video in the high school gym and were meeting with students, parents and faculty members.
Scott’s attorney, Linda Bauermeister, spoke publicly about the complaint on Wednesday.
“Our client is devastated by the complaint,” Bauermeister said. “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.”
Scott has not denied that sexual contact occurred.
The victim in the case is seeking a trial by jury and over $25,000 in damages including loss of earnings and attorney fees to be paid by Scott and Campbell Hall High.
Scott was a member of the “Showtime” Lakers and was a member of three championship teams with Los Angeles in 1985, ’87 and ’88. He later coached in the NBA from 1998 to 2016, which included a period as the Lakers’ head coach.
