Lawsuit filed against Texas assistant, girlfriend for monkey bite incident

A lawsuit has been filed against Texas assistant Jeff Banks and his girlfriend, Danielle Thomas, for their role in a reported monkey bite incident on Halloween. The lawsuit alleges both gross negligence and defamation on the part of Banks and Thomas.

The lawyer of the plaintiff is apparently a Texas A&M alum.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s minor child was out trick-or-treating with friend and invited to enjoy a haunted house in Thomas’ home. Upon entering the backyard, per the lawsuit, the children were shown a pet monkey and told it had been trained to give high fives. One of the kids reached out to the animal for a high five, but the monkey aggressively bit their hand causing injuries.

After the incident, Thomas refused to reveal vaccination records for her pet, according to the lawsuit, and stated on social media the kids did not have permission to go in the backyard. She then purportedly had a friend make an appearance on the Bobby Bones radio show, where they allegedly gave a false version of what transpired.

“Danielle Thomas’s actions ignited a media firestorm including articles on the New York Post, FOX, Barstool, Yahoo and many others which then further spread through social media,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit refers to Thomas as “The Pole Assassin,” a callback to when she appeared on the Jerry Springer Show under that moniker. A former exotic dancer, Thomas reportedly used the monkey as a part of her act.

In a video posted to Twitter that has since been deleted, she attempted to offer her side of the story.

“This is sad that people have to go all out of the way to prove that a person is lying,” Thomas said . “Here is the gate, here is where all the haunted house action happened. And yes, I do clean up fast — the shit’s gone. Here is the gate every child and parent was told to turn around at when they got to. It was closed and blocked off with balloons.

“This is how far the kid went in my backyard without permission, all the way over to where my animals live and watch this. I don’t even play when it gets to my animals, and I know all the legal rules on them. … How could she viciously bite someone if they stick their hand in there, where it don’t belong.”

Banks is in his first season with the Longhorns, joining Steve Sarkisian’s staff as a tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. He was previously the special teams coordinator at Alabama, where he worked with Sarkisian. Before joining the staff at Alabama in 2018 , Banks was the special teams coordinator at Texas A&M.

It was a rough year for Texas already, and the monkey bite incident and ensuing lawsuit certainly didn’t help. The Longhorns finished 5-7, failing to achieve bowl eligibility for the first time in four years. They’ll aim for a better finish in Sarkisian’s second year, with hopefully less outside distractions.