After days of being battered by claims he is a sexual harasser, Knicks GM Isiah Thomas broke down with emotion before last night’s game at Madison Square Garden as he declared charges that he said he “loved” former Garden marketing executive Anucha Browne Sanders are a lie.
“I have a responsibility to the New York Knicks as a public figure but more importantly as a father and a husband to answer these charges of sexual harassment,” he said, referring to the blockbuster claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Sanders.
The exec claimed in her suit that Thomas waged a campaign to make her life hell – and eventually made advances toward her, asking her to go “off site” for sex and even telling her he loved her.
Last night, Thomas grew glassy-eyed and sounded overwrought as he denied the devastating claims.
“First of all, I never ever made any sexual advances towards Anucha, nor am I in love with Anucha, nor did I ever tell her I was in love with her. Nor did I ever invite her to any off-site premises to have sex with her,” he said.
The Knicks GM and former star for the Detroit Pistons spoke a day after Sanders blasted him in an interview with The Post, describing how he made her cry during some of their confrontations.
Thomas last night did not take questions. He left the conference prepared to take on the Orlando Magic at the Garden, in a game that wife Lynn attended.
While denying Sanders’ claim, the former NBA championship player vowed as hard a fight in a court of law as he ever put up on a basketball court.
“I hope that when I am found innocent of the allegations that you write it and run it with the same intensity. I look forward to my day in court when I am proven right and she is proven wrong,” he said before thanking reporters.
Thomas’ emotional remarks were a marked contrast to the brief and business-like statement he gave at his lawyers office on Wednesday, in which he said, “I didn’t harass Anucha.”
Before he spoke, Barry Watkins, a spokesman for Garden chief James Dolan, delivered a message from his boss supporting Thomas.
“He has total confidence in the long-term strategy of the management team,” Watkins said.
Sanders claims Thomas made her life a living hell ever since he joined the team in 2003. She says she went from the fast track to fired after Thomas poisoned players against her and bad-mouthed her by calling her such names as “bitch” and “ho” to her face.
She says he even barred players from dealing with her marketing efforts – forcing her to use cardboard cutouts of team figures in television ads.
But then Thomas did a complete reversal, her suit claimed – telling her he was “in love” with her.
He also said he was “very attracted” to her and wanted to go “off site” for a randy encounter, the suit claims.
Sanders said she was eventually fired when she complained about the harassment to Garden brass.
Yesterday, Thomas’ lawyer responded to the claims Sanders made in her suit and in her interview with The Post by saying:
“We continue to be appalled by outrageous untruths coming out of the smear campaign by Anucha Browne Sanders . . . I can’t wait to get to a court of law to expose this blatant attempt at undeserved financial gain.”
When told of Green’s words, her attorney, Kevin Mintzer, said: “We too look forward to proving our claims in court.”
jay.greenberg@nypost.com