Meeting Anita Hill in the Sports Section
Sports reporter Karen Crouseprofiled Anucha Browne Sanders' upon her winning an $11.6 million judgment against New York Knicks coach and general manager Isiah Thomas for sexual harassment ("In Court of Public Opinion - Browne Sanders Inspires Many by Winning a Lawsuit").
Only among liberalsare lawsuits "inspiring."
The times didn't wait a single sentence before dropping the name of Anita Hill, made a liberal icon when she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment before his Congressional hearings for the Supreme Court nomination.
"Since winning her sexual-harassment lawsuit against the men who run the Knicks, Anucha Browne Sanders has talked to Anita Hill, been feted by Billie Jean King and galvanized women who are not famous but whose workplace horror stories are familiar.
"Browne Sanders, who won an $11.6 million judgment last month after convincing jurors that she was harassed over a two-year period, is being hailed as an inspiration and a feminist icon. Women who are pursuing similar cases have sought her counsel; organizations and talk-show hosts have requested her presence."
Though Hill's allegations remain utterly unsubstantiated, Crouse assumedthat Hill was telling the truth.
"But, of course, returning to her old life is not as easy as rewinding a tape and recording over the trial. Few people know that better than Anita Hill, who testified in 1991 that she had been sexually harassed while working for Clarence Thomas, then a nominee for the United States Supreme Court. In recent weeks, Browne Sanders has spoken to Hill about their common experience."
