vinylmartyr
01-12-2009, 08:51 PM
http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spmain0113,0,6286509.story
New York Knicks Center Eddy Curry. (Tribune File Photo / October 14, 2008)
The former driver for Eddy Curry is seeking $5 million from the Knicks' center in an explosive lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination, the driver's attorney told Newsday Monday night.
After Monday night's Knicks game in New Orleans, Curry said he is "just shocked." His lawyer called it "extortion."
The lawsuit states that Curry approached his driver, David Kuchinsky, in the nude on two separate occasions and "kept asking him to look and to touch him," said Kuchinsky's attorney, Matthew Blit. Blit also said the lawsuit alleges that Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive terms.
"This is absolutely false," Curry said. "It's incredible. I can't even believe it."
In addition to seeking the $5 million in damages, Kuchinsky's lawsuit asks for $98,000 in unpaid wages from the job he held for three years before quitting in October, Blit said. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York Monday, according to Blit.
Curry's lawyer, Kelly Saindon, said Kuchinsky's motivation to make such claims is that he recently was fired without notice. Blit disagreed, alleging that his client quit in response to Curry's sexual advances.
Curry, who has two years and $21.7 million remaining on his contract with the Knicks -- who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday -- said Kuchinsky has been after his money for a while.
"He had approached my friends and me a while back trying to get money and stuff like that," Curry said. "I just never thought -- especially with the past that me and him had -- I never thought that it would go past where it did, which is idle threats; 'I want some money or else' kind of stuff. I guess it's just like a prime example of you just got to watch who you have around you. This is a guy who I really thought was my friend up until the last four or five months. I can't even believe this has happened."
Saindon said Kuchinsky reached out to her on his own about a month ago, asking for two months' pay as severance -- he was paid $3,600 per month, she said -- and a specific laptop of Curry's. When she declined his request, she said he made additional demands and threatened, "I know a lot of stuff."
Blit said the lawsuit seeks $68,000 in unpaid salary and an additional $25,000 in expenses that Kuchinsky alleges he was never reimbursed for. "He didn't even make that much in a year," Saindon said.
Curry said, "He tried to contact a friend of mine about a month ago, two months ago. He actually tried to contact him on several occasions; every time it was something different. The first time it was to curse me out. 'Eddy's not this, Eddy's not that.' The second time was to apologize. The third time was to say to tell me if Eddy doesn't call me or somebody doesn't call me on his behalf, I'm going to sue him. I didn't."
Saindon said neither Kuchinsky nor Blit ever mentioned the sexual harassment or racial discrimination allegations. She said the first she heard about a possible lawsuit was in a letter from Blit Sunday. She said it read, "If I don't hear from you, we're going to file suit." She added, "I didn't think that would be by 9 o'clock this morning."
Blit said they have been consistently disappointed by the responses from the Curry camp, leading to this lawsuit. "It really wasn't a serious attempt to get back to us," he said. "It was just elusive tactics."
Now, as a result, there's a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
"Everybody that knows me knows I'm not racist," Curry said. "I never, ever, ever made a comment like that, playing or nothing. I would never make a comment like that. He knows that.
"Aside from the fact that I wouldn't do it because I'm not racist, I wouldn't do it because I wouldn't want him to play with me like that. So that's incredible, man. It's incredible."
New York Knicks Center Eddy Curry. (Tribune File Photo / October 14, 2008)
The former driver for Eddy Curry is seeking $5 million from the Knicks' center in an explosive lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination, the driver's attorney told Newsday Monday night.
After Monday night's Knicks game in New Orleans, Curry said he is "just shocked." His lawyer called it "extortion."
The lawsuit states that Curry approached his driver, David Kuchinsky, in the nude on two separate occasions and "kept asking him to look and to touch him," said Kuchinsky's attorney, Matthew Blit. Blit also said the lawsuit alleges that Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive terms.
"This is absolutely false," Curry said. "It's incredible. I can't even believe it."
In addition to seeking the $5 million in damages, Kuchinsky's lawsuit asks for $98,000 in unpaid wages from the job he held for three years before quitting in October, Blit said. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York Monday, according to Blit.
Curry's lawyer, Kelly Saindon, said Kuchinsky's motivation to make such claims is that he recently was fired without notice. Blit disagreed, alleging that his client quit in response to Curry's sexual advances.
Curry, who has two years and $21.7 million remaining on his contract with the Knicks -- who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday -- said Kuchinsky has been after his money for a while.
"He had approached my friends and me a while back trying to get money and stuff like that," Curry said. "I just never thought -- especially with the past that me and him had -- I never thought that it would go past where it did, which is idle threats; 'I want some money or else' kind of stuff. I guess it's just like a prime example of you just got to watch who you have around you. This is a guy who I really thought was my friend up until the last four or five months. I can't even believe this has happened."
Saindon said Kuchinsky reached out to her on his own about a month ago, asking for two months' pay as severance -- he was paid $3,600 per month, she said -- and a specific laptop of Curry's. When she declined his request, she said he made additional demands and threatened, "I know a lot of stuff."
Blit said the lawsuit seeks $68,000 in unpaid salary and an additional $25,000 in expenses that Kuchinsky alleges he was never reimbursed for. "He didn't even make that much in a year," Saindon said.
Curry said, "He tried to contact a friend of mine about a month ago, two months ago. He actually tried to contact him on several occasions; every time it was something different. The first time it was to curse me out. 'Eddy's not this, Eddy's not that.' The second time was to apologize. The third time was to say to tell me if Eddy doesn't call me or somebody doesn't call me on his behalf, I'm going to sue him. I didn't."
Saindon said neither Kuchinsky nor Blit ever mentioned the sexual harassment or racial discrimination allegations. She said the first she heard about a possible lawsuit was in a letter from Blit Sunday. She said it read, "If I don't hear from you, we're going to file suit." She added, "I didn't think that would be by 9 o'clock this morning."
Blit said they have been consistently disappointed by the responses from the Curry camp, leading to this lawsuit. "It really wasn't a serious attempt to get back to us," he said. "It was just elusive tactics."
Now, as a result, there's a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
"Everybody that knows me knows I'm not racist," Curry said. "I never, ever, ever made a comment like that, playing or nothing. I would never make a comment like that. He knows that.
"Aside from the fact that I wouldn't do it because I'm not racist, I wouldn't do it because I wouldn't want him to play with me like that. So that's incredible, man. It's incredible."