Walker Named In Civil Rights Suit

Antoine Walker of the Boston Celtics and the team's two first-round draft picks last year have been named in a civil rights suit filed in federal court.

Records in the case were impounded at the request of both sides, and the team and lawyers for the three defendants declined comment. A motion has been made to dismiss the suit, according to one of the lawyers, citing the public record of the suit filed April 15.

In addition to Walker, the Celtics' No. 1 draft pick in 1996 and their leading scorer this season, the defendants are guards Ron Mercer and Chauncey Billups and a fourth man, Michael Ervin, who is not in the NBA.

The plaintiff was listed as Jane Doe. Her lawyer, Margaret Burnham, and Ervin's lawyer, Willie Davis, did not return calls seeking comment.

Dennis Kelly, representing Mercer and Billups, and Nicholas Theodorou, representing Walker, had no comment.

Jeff Twiss, a Celtics spokesman, said the team was not named in the suit.

"We really don't know a lot of the particulars at this time, and I can't comment on anything I don't know about," Twiss said.

Mercer, taken sixth in the draft out of Kentucky, averaged 15.3 points per game, second to Walker's 22.4. Billups, chosen with the third pick out of Colorado, averaged 11.1 points in 51 games with Boston before being traded to Toronto on Feb. 18.

The suit was filed three days before the Celtics ended the regular season with a loss in Washington that gave them a 36-46 record. They did not make the playoffs.

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