Nbc’s Albert Indicted On Assault, Sex Charges Woman Says She Was Bitten, Forced To Perform Oral Sex

Marv Albert, the versatile sportscaster and voice of the NBA on NBC, has been charged with biting a woman in a hotel room as many as 15 times and forcing her to perform oral sex.

In an indictment handed up Monday, Albert was accused of attacking a 41-year-old Vienna, Va., woman he had known for 10 years.

If convicted of forcible sodomy, Albert faces five years to life in prison; the assault charge, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Albert, 53, will be allowed to turn himself in next week at a time to be arranged by his lawyer.

“I categorically deny these charges and intend to vigorously defend myself against these allegations,” Albert said Tuesday in a statement. “I am confident that I will be completely exonerated when these allegations are addressed in a public courtroom.”

In its own statement Tuesday, NBC’s sports division called Albert “a valued part of NBC Sports,” adding that it was “inappropriate for us to comment at this time until we have had an opportunity to fully review the allegations with Marv, his representatives and our lawyers.”

Albert’s next scheduled network appearance was to be Saturday’s NBA playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat. He was also expected to do the play-by-play for the finals.

Albert and the woman began arguing after Albert invited the woman to his room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel early on Feb. 12, police spokesman Tom Bell said Tuesday. The evening before the alleged attack, the New York Knicks played the Washington Bullets in nearby Landover, Md.

“She says he threw her on the bed and that he bit her severely, viciously, on the back. She had bite marks, 10 or 15 of them, and then … he forced her to commit sodomy,” Bell said. In some places, the flesh on her back was “ripped,” he said.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that according to the woman, Albert became angry when she refused his request to bring another man to the hotel for three-way sex.

Police were called after the woman went to National Hospital in Arlington, where she was treated for the bites and released, Bell said.

The police spokesman said investigators proceeded very deliberately because of Albert’s high profile. “We wanted to make sure that she checked out, that she was not some kind of gold-digger or something, and she is not,” Bell said.

Police prepared warrants several weeks ago and were prepared to arrest Albert if he came to the area for an April 30 playoff game between the Bullets and the Chicago Bulls. Police looked for Albert but did not find him, Bell said.

“If he had been in town and we could have found him we would have arrested him on those warrants,” Bell said.

Neither the police nor Commonwealth’s Attorney Richard Trodden has spoken to Albert.

There was no immediate answer at the home of the woman who brought the charges.

Albert is known for his skillful play-by-play in basketball, football, boxing and hockey.

His exuberant “Yesss!” after a successful play has become his trademark, along with an acerbic sense of humor.

He joined NBC in 1977, working six NBA championships and three NBA All-Star games. He covered three Olympics with the network, announcing basketball and boxing.

Albert got his start in sports as an office boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers and a ball boy for the New York Knicks. He attended Syracuse University for three years, finishing at New York University.

He became a writer and backup announcer for Marty Glickman at CBS, which led to his announcing job with the Knicks and Rangers on radio and then television, as well as a sportscaster with WNBC.

Besides his work for NBC, he also was a frequent guest on the David Letterman show.

On May 31, Albert is scheduled to receive the Curt Gowdy media award from the Basketball Hall of Fame.

His 1993 biography was called “‘I’d Love to But I Have a Game’ - 27 Years Without a Life.”

Albert, who was divorced five years ago and is now engaged to a freelance television producer, has four children, including the oldest, Kenny, 27, a sportscaster for the Fox network. His two younger brothers, Al and Steve, also are sports broadcasters.