New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden sued over alleged ‘Dancing Larry’ conduct

A former gameday employee of the New York Rangers is suing the team and its parent company, MSG Sports, for workplace discrimination, stemming from alleged misconduct by a superfan who regularly appears on the Madison Square Garden video screen during home games.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the Supreme Court of the State of New York by Miranda Tyson, a former member of the Blue Crew, a hype team of MSG employees that appears at Rangers home games and promotional events. The suit, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, alleges that Tyson and “other non-male members of the Blue Crew were subjected to a pattern of persistent and unwelcome physical contact” during segments involving “Dancing Larry.”

Though the suit refers only to his nickname, Dancing Larry is Larry Goodman — a New Jersey resident who has been a mainstay at Rangers games since 1996. Goodman is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

In the middle of the third period of every Rangers home game, in an attempt to pump up the crowd, the Blue Crew flanks Goodman in the stands while he ritually dances to the same song, “Strike It Up” by Black Box. The suit alleges that Tyson faced physical contact from Goodman that was “frequent and severe” and included “firmly touching and grabbing their heads, necks, shoulders, backs, arms, and hands.”

The suit, first reported by The Independent, adds that other Blue Crew members alleged more egregious conduct, “including Larry spitting into people’s mouths.”

Goodman has continued to perform throughout the 2025-26 season, including at both games last weekend.

Goodman did not reply to an online message sent Tuesday evening. He posted on his Instagram story early Wednesday morning: “RANGERS-Sabres tonight at the GARDEN!!! Lets do this!”

Bhavleen Sabharwal, Tyson’s lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment.

“We don’t comment on employee or legal matters,” an MSG Sports spokesperson said in a statement to The Athletic.

MSG Sports hired Tyson to the Blue Crew in 2021. Tyson felt reluctant to report Goodman’s conduct, especially as a rookie, for fear of risking their job, the suit says. In March 2024, though, they decided to act by emailing their direct supervisor.

“When I first joined the team in 2021, I heard from the vets that there was an ongoing problem with working with Larry: his insistence on touching us,” the email said, per the lawsuit. It continues, “Larry has, in my time here, with me alone, firmly touched (and in some cases grabbed) my head, neck, shoulder, back, arms, and hands.”

Tyson also told management that “every time we return from ‘Dancing Larry,’ more than one person assigned to it laments an unwanted interaction.” They also said they were not requesting to be removed from the Dancing Larry segment.

“That would not solve the problem — that would simply put another victim of persistent, unwelcome physical conduct that interferes with their ability to do their job in my place,” they wrote in the email. “I am saying that MSG has a responsibility to step in and address this textbook sexual harassment from one of its most recognizable personalities.”

Goodman was temporarily pulled from his Dancing Larry segment at Rangers home games, per the suit, but returned after a human resources investigation late in the 2023-24 NHL season. Human resources told Tyson the alleged harassment “should not happen again” and instructed them to report it if it did, the suit said.

After a February 2025 game, Tyson alleged Goodman placed the “full palm on the small of (their) back” in a report to their supervisor. The Dancing Larry segment continued, the lawsuit says, but Tyson was excluded from participating.

Tyson was not scheduled again for the Dancing Larry segment that season, the lawsuit says. That August, Tyson’s supervisor emailed to say that they were not selected to return for the 2025-26 season, inviting them to try out again the next year.

“The timing and pretextual nature of this decision are undeniable,” the suit reads. “After nearly four years of consistently positive reviews, stellar performance, and recent praise for taking on leadership roles during the Knicks playoff events, Defendants’ sudden decision not to rehire Mx. Tyson — just five months after they complained about sexual harassment and then reported the blatant retaliation that followed — is transparently pretextual.”

The suit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.