That is why I didn't create this thread in the Piston section but instead in the NBA section. Of course having said that, I think most Bad Boy fans who have been Piston fans for 3 decades or more, or like myself 5 decades plus, still consider Zeke a Piston because so much of their Piston identity is around the Bad Boys and he was their leader. Given a choice to watch a video of the Pistons victory in 2004 or either of the Bad Boys victories, I would choose the Bad Boys victories almost every time.
Right or wrong, I think that past behavior can play a part in the case. If there has never been any previous issues with female employees, the defense can use that to their small advantage. But just because someone hasn't done something before, doesn't mean that they didn't or aren't capable of doing, that action. Everyone has to start somewhere. Repeat offenders had never broken the law either before their first time. However, if there HAD been previous issues, I think that would help the plaintiff's case tremendously. So I think past behavior has a far greater potential to help the plaintiff than it does the defendant.
Basically, here is the rule on character evidence. In CIVIL cases it's almost never admissable. However, if and only if character is a MATERIAL issue in the case, it can be proved by any method (I.e. Conduct, reputation, and/or opinion). It's rare that you can use it...think of defamation.
I would imagine that non of these jurors were basketball fans and most if not all of them probably never heard of Zeke or at least didn't know anything about him. In this case inadmissibility works entirely against the defendant because he has no history of any prior action, and that fact would go against the credibility of the plaintiff. While people can change at any time in their life, I just find it hard to believe that Zeke could have been that dumb, because if he really did harass her that was just plain stupid for a lot of reasons.
I mentioned earlier about what do we think the verdict would have been if this case had been held in LA where jurors let most celebrities off.... but reading your comments about the wondering if the jurors were real BB fans or had even heard of Zeke makes me wonder what the verdict would been if this trial had been held in Detroit where everybody knows Thomas? Would the jurors have given him a pass based on his favorite son/Piston lore status? Or as Roscoe mentioned in another post, is he a forgotten Detroit legend who would have been found guilty because of the principle of the matter?
In response to a Yahoo question about NBA players, "Who is The Most Admired NBA Player", one poster had these comments about Zeke. For other fans opinions on this question, click on link below. Who is the most admired NBA player? - Yahoo! Answers
I didn't know that Browne-Sanders was just hired by the University of Buffalo. That is were I got my degrees. My guess is that she took a good sized pay cut. But then she won't need the money unless the verdict is overturned or the amount significantly reduced. University at Buffalo - Division of Athletics News - Go Bulls!
So Zeke is going to be getting some religion over what he said about the sisters. Sharpton: Former Pistons great Thomas owes apology to black women
