Steve Francis in court yesterday, sued for $10 million

Our old buddy Steve was in court yesterday. These three losers are suing him for supposedly being injured in a nightclub incident. Things just aren't going well for him. He is recovering from a car accident and now he is in court.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...magic1005dec10,0,3733507.story?coll=orl-magic

Orlando Magic guard Steve Francis is back on the court tonight, but on Friday, he was in a Washington, D.C., court giving a deposition.

Three men filed a civil suit against him after claiming they were injured in an alleged June nightclub incident, and Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, told the Sentinel that Francis is being sued for $10 million.

Fried said Francis was not involved in the incident and alleged that the civil suit is being lodged only because he's a professional athlete. No criminal charges were filed.

Francis missed practice Friday in Orlando but was expected to fly back home late Friday and play tonight against the Denver Nuggets.

Fried said the case will not be tried until after the season.

"Steve came here today because we have an absolute policy that we're not succumbing to any shake-downs -- and that's what this is," Fried said by cell phone. "If you have $120, you can file a lawsuit against an Allen Iverson or a Steve Francis. . . . This is the other side of fame if you're A.I. or Steve."

Iverson is being sued for $20 million by four men in a civil case stemming from a July 20 bar brawl.

Attorney Stephanie Moran, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case against Francis, did not return a message seeking comment.

The alleged fight took place June 11 at a club that Francis and his friends visited after attending the Mike Tyson-Kevin McBride boxing match at MCI Center in Washington.

In the 14-count civil suit, Akbar Muhammad of Essex County, N.J., and Nafis Muhammad-Baker of Landover, Md., are accusing Francis and 12 unidentified members of his party of beating them to the point they were rendered unconscious. They also are claiming that Francis hit Muhammad over the head with a bottle.

Another plaintiff, Ahmad Muhammad, apparently stayed in intensive care for almost a week from injuries he claimed he sustained in the fight.

Fried said Francis was not involved in "the alleged incident. Steve was heading down the stairs" when a bottle was thrown at him.

Fried said that a civil suit was filed before an investigation was complete, leading him to believe this is nothing more than a "shake-down."

Francis, the Magic's leading scorer, has had his share of distractions the past few weeks.

On Nov. 19, he said he was involved in a single-car accident and sustained an injury to his chest. He missed a game but then played in the next four. Francis said he still was experiencing discomfort in his chest and sought a second opinion last week in Washington, missing three games before coming back Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls.

"Steve came back too soon," Fried said.

The Magic, 7-11 and losers of five consecutive games, slowly are getting their injury-riddled roster healthy.

There is a possibility that Grant Hill -- who has been recovering from Oct. 31 hernia surgery -- will make his regular-season debut tonight. But the Magic don't play again until next Wednesday, when they face the Knicks in New York. Hill may get in a few more days of practice and play then.

The Magic have been trying to refine their offense after a torrent of turnovers in recent games. They have exactly as many turnovers as assists (294).

"A majority of our turnovers are turnovers where we are carelessly throwing the ball away," Magic Assistant General Manager Otis Smith said. "It's just one of the areas we have to get better at.

"We have to get to the point where we value the basketball."