More Hornets' Sex Allegations

Two former female employees of the Charlotte Hornets say owner George Shinn made unwanted sexual advances, then paid them to keep quiet about it.

The allegations are in a motion filed as part of an earlier lawsuit that alleges Shinn forced another woman to perform oral sex at his Tega Cay mansion last year. Shinn, who is married, has countersued that Charlotte, N.C., woman for slander.

He has acknowledged being with her at his York County house, but said she "initiated sexual contact." He has denied forcing himself on the woman, who is the 29-year-old wife of a Charlotte doctor, and has called her "a pathological liar."

The latest court document identifies the two former Hornets employees only as Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 and say Shinn made lewd comments and touched or grabbed them. The motion includes lawyers' summaries of the women's unsworn statements.

Lawyers for the woman who originally sued want a judge to force Shinn to answer questions about his behavior with the two other women.

Shinn, who was never charged in the Tega Cay incident, does not have a listed telephone number. A Hornets spokesman said he would not talk about the matter.

Shinn's lawyer, William Diehl, did not return a phone call Tuesday. His secretary said he was out of town for a deposition.

He told WBT radio that he knew nothing about one of the allegations and said the other woman's situation did not involve sexual harassment.

"This is an effort to get evidence ... that they think would help them," Diehl said. "I don't think there's evidence to get and we don't think anything that has happened helps them."

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said both women refused to comment when they were contacted by the newspaper.

Jane Doe 2 was a member of the Honey Bees, the Hornets' dance-cheerleading squad, whom Shinn repeatedly called at all hours and refused to leave alone, and on several occasions, "assaulted Jane Doe 2 by grabbing and touching her buttocks," the court document said.

Shinn became "more and more obsessed with Jane Doe 2, had her followed by investigators, questioned heincessantly about her activities, and repeatedly accused her of having sex with other men," the document said.

Diehl said he knew nothing about any member of the Honey Bees being sexually harassed. The woman signed a March 1997 agreement releasing Shinn from legal claims in exchange for her silence and an undisclosed payment, according to the document.

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