Well-known New York Rangers superfan “Dancing Larry” is now set to be added as a defendant in a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Madison Square Garden employee, according to court documents.
Larry Goodman, who has been a fixture at Rangers home games since 1996, is accused in an amended complaint of creating “a pattern of persistent and unwelcome physical contact” with members of the team’s in-game hype group, the Blue Crew, before and after his performance segments. Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond approved the amendment in New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The original suit was filed in April by Miranda Tyson, a former Blue Crew member, against the Rangers and Madison Square Garden Company. Tyson, who is nonbinary, says they were not brought back for the 2025-26 NHL season after reporting repeated unwanted interactions with Goodman.
According to the amended complaint, Goodman showed an “invasive pattern of physical contact” toward Tyson and other non-male Blue Crew members, including “firmly touching and grabbing their heads, necks, shoulders, backs, arms and hands.” The original filing says Tyson, whom it describes as “present[ing] in a traditionally feminine manner,” told MSG management that “pretty much every member of the Blue Crew who isn’t a man has this experience every time they are assigned to Mr. Goodman.”
Goodman’s role is a familiar one during Rangers games. In the middle of the third period at most home dates, the Blue Crew surrounds him in the stands as part of a ritual meant to energize the crowd. He dances to “Strike It Up” by Black Box, and outside the arena he has also been booked by fans for private events, including wedding and bar mitzvah parties.
The lawsuit says Tyson first raised concerns in a March 2024 email to a supervisor. Goodman was then temporarily removed from his “Dancing Larry” segment, but returned after a human resources investigation late in the 2023-24 season.
Tyson later reported another incident after a February 2025 game, saying Goodman had touched them again and placed his “full palm on the small of (their) back.” The complaint says Goodman kept his in-game role, while Tyson was left out for the rest of the season and not invited back for 2025-26.
The amended complaint says Goodman continued his conduct after “being placed on notice that it was unwelcome and the subject of formal complaints,” calling it “willful and knowing.” It seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Two days after Tyson’s original suit was filed, the Rangers honored Goodman on their in-arena video board during the April 8 regular-season home finale for his “30 years at the Garden.” Goodman then performed his dance routine after the game, apparently because there was no television timeout during his usual third-period slot.
An MSG Sports spokesperson said in an April statement, “We don’t comment on employee or legal matters.” Tyson’s lawyer, Bhavleen Sabharwal, had not responded to a request for comment as of Wednesday morning. Goodman also had been contacted for comment.
Sabharwal wrote in filing the amended complaint last month that the current defendants - including former MSG senior vice president and event producer Mike Sarnoski - had indicated they would not oppose the motion to add Goodman.
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