The AP reports:
A jury has rejected Elgin Baylor’s claim of age discrimination and harassment, giving the Los Angeles Clippers a major victory against their former general manager.
The Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Wednesday declined to award Baylor any damages. He claimed he was forced out of the job he held for 22 years.
The Clippers had contended that Baylor left the team on his own.
InsideHoops.com reports:
The following is a statement from Los Angeles Clippers’ General Counsel Robert H. Platt, concerning today’s legal decision:
Today’s verdict was inevitable and it represents a complete vindication of all of the baseless claims asserted by Mr. Baylor.
For more than two years, Mr. Baylor’s counsel has gone to extraordinary lengths in a fruitless effort to fabricate a case. This was a case of FIRE!, ready, aim. The jury saw through their baseless rhetoric and quickly realized that there were no facts to support any of Mr. Baylor’s allegations.
Mr. Baylor initially sued the NBA, only to dismiss the League on the eve of trial in exchange for the League agreeing not to pursue a malicious prosecution case against Mr. Baylor.
In addition, Mr. Baylor and his lawyers held a loud press conference claiming race discrimination. However, the Court threw out Mr. Baylor’s meritless race claims just one day before the trial was set to begin.
Solely on principle, my clients refused to settle this lawsuit despite having the opportunity to do so. Even when faced with endless, public, malicious attacks, they were resolute in their demand that they be fully exonerated by a jury. That moment has now come.
My clients are to be credited for their willingness to see this through. Personally I am gratified to know that this was a day on which justice was well-served.
