Stephon Marbury was reportedly having an affair with his chef and at one point offered her almost $1 million to keep quiet about it. Classy. Naturally, things didn’t turn out the way the former Knicks star envisioned.
The Coney Island native hired Mitchell as a “private chef” in January 2006, the same month the team and coach Isiah Thomas were hit with a $10 million sexual-harassment suit by one of their executives, Anucha Browne Sanders.
Mitchell was soon serving up more than hot meals to her boss, the papers say. “Starbury” fired her in 2006, and Mitchell complained that she’d been the victim of sexual harassment.
Marbury said he had considered their relationship “consensual” — but offered her $900,000 to keep her mouth shut. Marbury, however, stopped making the payments in January 2010 after he’d already shelled out about $600,000 and, at Mitchell’s request, the case went to an arbitrator.
“It is uncontroverted that during Ms. Mitchell’s employment, she had a sexual relationship with Stephon Marbury which she described as occurring on approximately five occasions,” the arbitrator found.
Mitchell said the star “made her believe that ‘keeping him happy’ was a requirement of keeping her job,” the ruling said. The other requirement was cooking for his wife, Latasha, and their three kids.
The arbitrator awarded Mitchell $330,000, saying she could have sued Marbury or sold her story for more money than she received, and that Marbury had his eyes open when he made the deal.
The filing became public yesterday, after Mitchell’s lawyers asked a judge to enforce the award.
During the arbitration proceedings, the point guard testified that the money was to “buy Ms. Mitchell’s silence” because “a revelation of Mr. Marbury’s extramarital affair would embarrass him with his wife and children.”
Marbury’s wife is currently in talks to join the next season of Basketball Wives. Revenge and shade awaits.
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