Sports
exclusive
MSG boss James Dolan racks up a win in California federal court in massage therapist assault case
James Dolan has racked up a win in California federal court, Page Six has learned.
The Madison Square Garden boss moved to dismiss claims against him in which Kellye Croft alleged she was pressured into sex when she worked as a masseuse on a 2013 tour featuring the Eagles and Dolan’s band, JD & the Straight Shot.
A judge has ruled for now to dismiss the claims without prejudice, according to court documents.
Croft still has until July 8 to file an amended complaint in the case.
Dolan’s spokesperson said of the development on Monday, “The Federal Court in Los Angeles determined today that there is absolutely no merit to any of the allegations against Mr. Dolan. This is just part of [Croft’s attorney] Doug Wigdor’s vendetta against Mr. Dolan and Madison Square Garden.”
A rep for Wigdor’s firm told us, “We look forward to addressing the pleading concern that the Court identified regarding Ms. Croft’s sex trafficking claim in an amended complaint.”
Wigdor and Madison Square Garden have bitterly faced off before in court.
The firm has previously filed a case against Dolan and MSG on behalf of former Knick Charles Oakley over the onetime player’s 2017 ejection from the arena.
MSG denied Oakley’s claims at the time, and Oakley’s suit was tossed by a Manhattan judge twice — in 2020 and 2021 — but was then revived by an appeals court in 2023.
Croft filed the bombshell sex assault and trafficking suit earlier this year in US District Court for the Central District of California against Dolan and other parties.
