Mandi Koba, the woman who has accused former Phoenix Suns star Kevin Johnson of molesting her when she was 16, spoke for the first time on camera in an episode of HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” that premiered Tuesday night. Koba repeated the allegations that have been aired by numerous outlets over the past years: That Johnson took her clothes off, fondled her and showered with her in 1996, while he was playing for the Suns.
Koba told “Real Sports” reporter David Scott that she regretted not coming forward with her allegations, instead agreeing to a $230,000 settlement with Johnson, who has been mayor of Sacramento since 2008. She also said she realized her allegations stood little chance of holding up in court, but regrets not coming forward earlier.
“Who were they going to believe, the 17-year old with anorexia and depression, or the celebrity favorite basketball player of Phoenix,” she said, per the Sacramento Bee.
“I blamed myself for years and years. Others have been hurt that wouldn’t have been hurt,” she continued, per Fox Sports.
Tuesday’s episode detailed five total allegations against Johnson, with two other women besides Koba talking to Scott on-camera. Both participated in Johnson’s Hood Corps urban service program as teenagers, and both said Johnson touched them inappropriately when they were 18.
Last year, former Sacramento city employee Ilee Muller claimed that Johnson had sexually harassed her multiple times over a seven-month period. The Bee detailed one such instance:
Muller’s claim alleged that Johnson summoned her to his private library on City Hall’s fifth floor on Dec. 26, 2013. Once there, according to the claim, the mayor gave Muller “an unwelcome and close hug, pressing his body against (her), then felt along her torso.” Johnson then “pressed his body against hers and asked her if she ‘felt it,’” then tried to kiss Muller, according to the claim.
Muller sought $200,000 in damages from the Sacramento City Council but her claim was denied in a closed-door session, the Bee reports. “Real Sports” reported Tuesday that Johnson had paid Muller but did not cite any evidence to support that assertion.
Johnson, who has been mayor of Sacramento since 2008, has never been charged with a crime and has denied all the allegations against him. In October, he announced he would not be seeking a third term this year. Johnson is a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It’s unfortunate that this previously addressed issue has once again been rehashed instead of using the opportunity to tell the ongoing story of a community renaissance led by residents working closely with one of their own, a professional athlete turned Mayor, to make Sacramento a better place,” his press secretary, Ben, Sosenko, said in a statement Tuesday night to the Sacramento Bee.
