A Denver Nuggets fan is suing Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of Ball Arena, and Argus Event Staffing for not hiring enough female security guards after she was assaulted in an arena restroom during a 2023 playoff game.
As reported by The Denver Post, Kathy Kim alleges she was assaulted by two women who thought she was someone else in a third-level women's room at the home of the Nuggets during the fourth quarter of their May 16, 2023, game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a lawsuit filed in Denver District Court late last week, Kim says she was washing her hands when two drunk women walked up to her and asked if she was talking trash. When she said she wasn’t, the women started punching her and pulling out her hair, according to the lawsuit.
A male security guard responded to the assault but hesitated because it was inside a women’s restroom, causing Kim further harm, Kim’s lawyers from the Wheat Ridge firm Falgien Warr & Iyer wrote in the complaint, as reported by Kate Langford of the Post.
Kim, a Denver resident, was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, communication problems and other injuries because of the assault.
A female security guard would not have hesitated before entering the women’s bathroom, the complaint alleges, and therefore would have responded faster to the attack.
“[Kroenke and Argus] acted unreasonably by failing to do anything to ensure sufficient staffing levels, proportionate levels of male-to-female security guards, sufficient training of staff and sufficient disbursement of staff throughout Ball Arena," Kim’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, according to Langford's report.
Representatives for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment did not respond to a Post request for comment, while Argus Event Staffing declined to comment.
Kim is suing Kroenke and Argus for negligence, as well as negligent supervision, training, hiring and retention.
Kim is suiting the two women allegedly involved in the attack for negligence and civil assault and battery. Kim is suing the male security guard for negligence. In breaking up the fight, the guard was also punched in the face by one of the women.
Kim is seeking an unspecified amount of money for damages, economic loss, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
"This is at least the second fan lawsuit filed against Kroenke in the last month," Langford wrote in the Post. "Nuggets superfan Vicki Ray filed a lawsuit against the company in April after Kroenke officials revoked her season tickets because she made “unwanted contact” with a player and referee. Ray denies those claims."
