The Dallas Mavericks reportedly failed to address years of sexual harassment complaints women staffers made about the team's ex-CEO, according to Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim and Jessica Luther, citing interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees of the organization.
Multiple women said former Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery sexually harassed them, from repeated propositions for sex to touching their calves and thighs during meetings, and the organization created a culture that was hostile to female employees. The team reportedly investigated several complaints against him in the summer of 1998, retained him, and issued a new sexual harassment policy, but women say his behavior continued. He stayed on in the role when Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000, and didn't leave until 2015.
The Mavericks released a team statement minutes before the SI article was published, saying they'd fired an employee for not being truthful about a prior domestic violence incident several years ago. That employee is identified in the article as longtime Mavs.com writer Earl Sneed.
According to Sports Illustrated, Sneed was arrested at the Mavericks practice facility over the domestic violence matter and plead guilty to misdemeanor family violence assault in 2012. The police report from the incident says the woman suffered a fractured wrist in the altercation. Once his sentence was completed, the charges were dismissed, but his assault record barred Sneed from entering Canada - meaning the writer couldn't accompany the team when they visited the Toronto Raptors.
In 2014, Sneed dated a fellow Mavericks employee. Sources say that Sneed hit the woman during an argument, and she later reported it to her supervisor and to Buddy Pittman, then the head of human resources. She said Pittman was supportive and told her about Sneed's previous arrest, but the writer stayed on with the organization. The woman quit.
More than six sources told SI that Cuban - known around the league for being hands-on - must have had some knowledge of the Mavs' reportedly toxic organizational culture, although they all said he hadn't sexually harassed anyone to their knowledge.
Cuban responded to the article Tuesday night, telling Wertheim that he wasn't aware of the issues.
"This is all new to me," Cuban said. "... Terdema was hired before I got here, and the assertions you made were news to me. I talked to our HR person and again after these came up. And I was told there had been no complaints ... and based off of what I've read here, um, we just fired our HR person."
He was referring to the Mavs' apparent dismissal of Pittman, most recently human resources vice president. Cuban later clarified that he had been informed of the employee's report that Sneed assaulted her in 2014, and the owner subsequently recommended that the organization create a zero-tolerance policy.
The Mavericks have also hired external legal counsel to undertake an independent investigation of Terdema's behavior, as well as a broader examination of "the company's workplace practices and policies."
The NBA released a statement Tuesday night, saying the "alleged conduct runs counter to the steadfast commitment of the NBA and its teams to foster safe, respectful and welcoming workplaces for all employees."
Cuban remains adamant he knew nothing.
"It’s abhorrent. It’s not a situation we condone," he said. "I can't tell you how many times, particularly since all this (#MeToo) stuff has been coming out recently I asked our HR director, 'Do we have a problem? Do we have any issues I have to be aware of?’ And the answer was no."
