NBA star James Harden accused of negligence in sexual assault lawsuit against his nephew

NBC News

3 days ago

LA Clippers star player James Harden has been accused of negligence in a lawsuit that claims a woman was raped by his nephew while she was unconscious after a New Year's Eve party at his Texas house last year.
Harden's nephew, Justice Armani Blackburn, is accused of sexual assault against Marisa Watley, 40, in a civil complaint filed in Texas on Monday by law firm Wigdor and co-counsel Ellwanger Henderson.
The lawsuit alleges that security guards hired by Harden could have prevented the alleged rape and that he is "vicariously liable for the actions of his guards and their corporate employer." It names Harden, Blackburn, and an unknown number of unidentified security guards as defendants, listed as 'security guards 1-10,' and their unidentified employer.
Watley is seeking more than $100,000 in damages and wants a jury trial.
Representatives for both Harden and Blackburn were contacted for comment. Neither has responded publicly to the allegations.
"Plaintiff Marisa Watley was brutally raped by Defendant Justice Armani Blackburn following a New Years Eve party at Defendant James Harden's mansion home," the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the Harris County District Clerk District, Watley's friends had allegedly told the security team that she appeared to be missing in the house and that the guards were aware that women were passed out from intoxication throughout the house.
"Nonetheless, Mr. Harden's security team recklessly failed to protect Ms. Watley on Mr. Harden's property — and the result was a sexual assault from which she will suffer indefinitely," the lawsuit says.
Watley, a real estate agent, said in a statement: "Since New Year's Day, when I reported the rape by Mr. Blackburn to the police, I have remained puzzled by how Mr. Harden's security behaved that day — it is painful to imagine that this all could have been stopped in time. I hope this complaint pushes security employees generally to act more responsibly when women are in danger."
The complaint says she now speaks with a heavy stutter due to the "severe trauma" of the alleged rape.
The lawsuit says that Watley and two friends met at a restaurant on New Year's Eve before going to a party at a nearby club. At about 3:30 a.m., they allegedly saw Harden in a VIP area and learned of a party at his house.
The three women took an Uber to his house — the complaint says Watley thought they were going to a friend's apartment — where an armed security guard checked their IDs and told them to go to the recording studio inside, the lawsuit says.
There, the lawsuit says, Blackburn gave all three women a drink that caused them to pass out. The lawsuit says that Watley's memory from this point "becomes extremely hazy" as she faded in and out of consciousness.
"The next thing Ms. Watley recalls is being shocked into consciousness while lying face down on a bed with a man behind her having aggressive sex with her," the lawsuit says.
Watley alleges that after this, a security guard told her to leave. The lawsuit says her two friends had already been told to leave and were locked out despite telling security guards that their friend and some possessions were still inside.
The lawsuit says they were allegedly told no women were in the house, but the friends soon saw more women leaving.
Watley's two friends had her iPhone and were able to contact her sister through her emergency contacts at 10:44 a.m., who then called the police. The lawsuit alleges that it wasn't until after 1:29 p.m. that Watley emerged.
Her attorneys, Michael J. Willemin and John S. Crain from Wigdor, and Jay Ellwanger and Kaylyn Betts of Ellwanger Henderson, said in a joint statement that Watley showed "great strength and courage" in reporting the allegations.
"This rape was immediately reported to the police, and we will bring Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harden to justice through the civil justice system," they said.