Gilady Reaches Settlement with Accusers

(ATR) IOC member Alex Gilady has withdrawn a lawsuit against two women who had accused him of sexual harassment.

Gilady accused them of libel for their accusations, which he denied. Hewithdrew his lawsuit this week as part of a mediation settlement with both women.

The mediation settlement, seen by Around the Rings, says "the parties reached an arrangement that removes and terminates all disputes between them of any kind and at anytime".

"The subject of any engagement and/or communication between them…and/or derivative and follows from it, without each party admitting and/or approving any of the other’s claims, all in the framework of a mediation proceeding that was held before the mediator," the agreement reads.

Oshrat Kotler of Channel Ten news in Israel said during a live television interview, on Nov. 2, 2017, that Gilady had once made an "indecent proposition" to her. Three days later Neri Livne of Haaretz, wrote a column detailing improper conduct surrounding a potential job interview.

Gilady did not deny ever meeting Livne and said that her words were "mostly true," but were the business of a private relationship between the two. Gilady said that he did "recall talking to [Kotler]," and did not mean any harm in his behavior.

After the allegations were made public, Gilady resigned from his position at Keshet Media Group in Israel. He later sued the two women for libel and vowed to fight the accusations, which were described as "coarse, reckless and unfounded slander".

"Kotler and Livneh did this, apparently, to ‘hitch a ride’ for their own personal gain on the #Metoo movement," according to the lawsuit.

News of Gilady dropping the lawsuits against each woman was first reported by The Jerusalem Post.

The IOC was not immediately available to comment on the settlement because of office closures. Gilady has been a member of the IOC since 1994 and was at one time an executive at NBC.

Gilady’s conduct was brought up during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics when a different IOC member was expelled for improper conduct with a security guard. The IOC said it maintained the presumption of innocence with Gilady, as the IOC Ethics Commission had not made a final ruling on the allegations.

During the lawsuits, Gilady has remained the vice-chair of the Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission, frequently travelling to Tokyo and speaking with Governor Yuriko Koike about preparations.

As part of the mediation agreement "the claim against all of the defendants will be erased without being able to be returned for a second time". All parties agreed that the mediation was final and cannot be reopened.

Two letters were produced, one signed by Gilady and Kottler and another signed by Gilady and Livne, to settle the claims between the pair of parties.

The letter between Gilady and Kottler says that "Mr. Gilady stated that he does not remember the events of 1994, which Mr. Kotler described in an interview dated 2 November 2017. In any case, Mr. Gilady clarifies that such behavior does not characterize him and he had no intention of harming Mrs. Kotler."

Between Gilady and Livne the letter reads that "the parties contacted mediator Amos Gavrieli to clarify their positions regarding the First acquaintance meeting, straightened out the differences between them and no longer have complaints against each other".

Written by Aaron Bauer

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