PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A $300,000 lawsuit that accused former Portland Trail Blazer Zach Randolph of battering and harassing a man he thought had given information to police about ex-teammate Qyntel Woods has been dropped.
Both sides declined to say if there was a cash settlement. Trial had been set to begin Monday.Robert Bacote filed suit against Woods and Randolph, now with the New York Knicks, in October 2006. He said the pair wrongly suspected him of telling police two years earlier that Woods abused animals.
One of Woods' pit bulls had been found in a Portland alley with cuts, bruises and scarring, and police discovered bloody paw prints and smears in his Lake Oswego home. He pleaded guilty to animal abuse and was sentenced to one year of probation and 80 hours of community service.
Bacote said he lived in fear the next two years as Woods, Randolph and their followers harassed him. The suit contended that Bacote, a 34-year-old rapper, was surrounded by Woods, Randolph and their friends after performing at the Roseland Theater in 2004.
The suit said Woods confronted Bacote and punched him in the chest. The suit claimed Randolph pushed Bacote from behind and egged on Woods. The suit also alleged that Randolph struck Bacote in the chest at a nightclub.
