LOS ANGELES, United States — Former Los Angeles Lakers player and coach Byron Scott is being sued for a 37-year-old case of alleged sexual assault according to a report from the Associated Press.
His female accuser alleges he sexually assaulted her during a team event at her high school in 1987, when he was 26 and she was 15.
The suit, which lays out accusations of sexual battery and false imprisonment, was filed in 2022 when a California law that temporarily allowed older cases to be filed for underage plaintiffs came into effect.
The report says that law required the defendant to remain anonymous until certain thresholds were crossed. The star player had fought to keep his anonymity but a judge ruled last August that Scott could be identified and when the case was amended on May 1, 2025 he was publicly named.
The report cites claims from the court filing that during a visit from the Lakers when the then 15-year- old plaintiff was attending summer classes at Campbell Hall High in Los Angeles, “she was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor’s closet in the high school gymnasium,”
The report also quotes Scott’s attorney, Linda Bauermeister, who said her client doesn’t deny that sexual contact occurred but maintains that he thought the girl was of legal age.
The report indicated that the plaintiff is also suing the high school as the suit accuses school officials of negligence for failing to protect her.
The woman is seeking a trial by jury and over $25,000 for damages including loss of earnings and attorney fees to be paid by Scott and the school.
Scott led a successful career in the NBA, and won three NBA championships before becoming Kobe Bryant’s head coach with the Lakers.