Sacramento Kings Dancers Sue for Retaliation Over Complaints

Two Sacramento Kings dancers, who complained about a choreographer’s pattern of sexual harassment, say they weren’t re-selected for the team because they spoke up, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in California state court.

Choreographer Matthew Day inappropriately touched dancers and sometimes stretched them without their consent, and after the suit’s two unnamed dancers repeatedly raised concerns with the Kings’ human resources department and a dance coach, Day’s behavior continued, the suit alleges. In an August audition, neither dancer was rehired. Day sat on the judging panel. West Coast Employment Lawyers, APLC, the firm that recently sued singers Lizzo and Jason Derulo for sexual harassment, filed the suit in Sacramento County Superior Court.

The way Day touched dancers’ legs and backs made one of the dancers who sued “dread coming to dance practice every day,” the lawsuit said. The choreographer sent her unsolicited and increasingly flirtatious comments and messages on Instagram, according to the suit, and offered to give her private dance classes and take photographs of her.

Day sent the other plaintiff’s photos to an outside promotion company without her consent and continuously referred to her as “love.” He would often videotape the dance team without telling them why or showing them the footage, the suit said.

Other dancers had also complained about Day’s behavior, both plaintiffs said.

The two dancers were told to primarily practice jazz dance leading up to the auditions, in line with industry standards about communication during the selection process. But the judging panel informed them on the day of the audition that they were “going in a different direction” and would focus on hip hop instead, requiring the dancers to breakdance.

One of the two dancers can’t breakdance due to her knee condition. Her disability was the subject of a Kings YouTube documentary during a previous season, and she alerted judges and organizers to it during that season’s auditions and practice.

The Sacramento Kings didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment.

The complaint includes claims of sexual harassment creating a hostile work environment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act; failure to remedy the hostile work environment; FEHA disability discrimination; failure to accommodate and interact with disabled workers in violation of FEHA; and retaliation. The two dancers seek damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Counsel for the plaintiffs, West Coast Employment Lawyers, APLC, provided a copy of the complaint, which they said was filed Oct. 31.

The case is Jane Doe v. Sacramento Kings, Cal. Super. Ct., docket number unavailable, 10/31/23.