In a press release, D.C. Assault president Curtis Malone responded to the lawsuit Minnesota Timberwolves forward and Maryland native Michael Beasley filed against him by calling it "baseless." The Washington Post has Malone's full statement:

“DC Assault has always been more than just basketball to me and the children that participate are family. My goal when creating DC Assault was to provide these children an opportunity to do something better with their lives on and off the court and that still is the case. I believe this case will ultimately be thrown out of court , because its premise is baseless. This will not stop me from continuing the mission of the DC Assault.”

Beasley's suit alleges Joel Bell, his former agent, funded Malone's D.C. Assault program and provided gifts to Beasley's family in exchange for Malone steering Beasley to sign with Bell, which Beasley contends robbed him of the chance to explore signing with other agents. Beasley terminated his contract with Bell in Sept. 2008--just over a month before his rookie season with the Miami Heat was due to begin.

Discovery for this lawsuit will take place Oct. 31, with a pre-trial hearing set for Nov. 3.