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Isiah Thomas maintains his innocence in 2007 sexual harassment case

Rick Osentoski / USA TODAY Sports

New York Liberty president Isiah Thomas once again maintained his innocence in regards to a case involving sexual harassment dating back to 2007, when he coached the New York Knicks.

The Hall of Fame guard appeared on SportsCenter on Sunday to speak to the case involving former Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders, who alleged that she was sexually harassed by Thomas. Browne Sanders went on to expand her suit to include Madison Square Garden and Knicks owner James Dolan on charges of wrongful termination.

"I will own up to what I did and the mistakes that I made, but I can't own up to things that I didn't do," Thomas told ESPN's Hannah Storm. "... I did not call her derogatory names. Just didn't happen."

Browne Sanders' case went to court in 2007, where a jury returned a verdict finding Dolan and Madison Square Garden liable for sexual harassment. The defendants had planned to appeal the verdict, but the case was eventually settled outside of court for $11.5 million.

Despite the settlement, Thomas remains defiant in maintaining his innocence.

"That was just the decision that was made at that time," Thomas said of the settlement. "... I can't carry weight or water for something that I didn't do. And, as I said then and I'm saying today, it didn't happen."

Thomas was not found personally liable, but the jury did rule that Thomas aided and abetted a hostile work environment.

"... I wasn't the president of Madison Square Garden," Thomas maintained. "I was the president of the New York Knicks. That being said, what went on at Madison Square Garden, if I had any responsibility in it in terms of managing my players, their behavior and actions, again, I take full responsibility for that.

"But Anucha Browne Sanders didn't work for me, I didn't fire her, we didn't work in the same place, and Madison Square Garden has taken full responsibility for their environment and what happened there."

The case was brought back into the spotlight when it Thomas was named the president of the WNBA's Liberty in May. Thomas once again denied his wrongdoings shortly after the hire, but his bid for partial ownership of the team was put on hold by the WNBA in June.

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