LOS ANGELES – A woman who claims she had an affair with former NBA star and Fox Sports Net sportscaster John Salley (search) has filed a lawsuit alleging he mentally and physically abused her during the relationship.
The suit filed Friday alleges that the co-host of "The Best Damn Sports Show Period (search)" met Laura Azevedo at Magic Johnson's "A Midsummer Night's Magic (search)" charity event in 2002.
Calls left for Salley at Fox Sports Net were not immediately returned.
The two began dating the following December after Salley told Azevedo he was going to divorce his wife, according to the court papers.
Azevedo alleges that Salley became increasingly jealous and abusive, until at one point he "began violently pulling and twisting" her left leg. The suit says that Salley paid for Azevedo to undergo an MRI, which revealed a torn knee ligament that required surgery.
Salley played on NBA championship teams with the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. He joined the Fox Sports Net show in 2001.
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