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NBA launching private hotline for employees to report workplace issues

Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Stemming from Sports Illustrated's recent report on the Dallas Mavericks, the National Basketball Association is taking the necessary steps to help provide peace of mind for both league and team employees.

The NBA has decided to launch a confidential hotline for employees to report any workplace issues, including sexual harassment.

The hotline will be made available starting next week.

Commissioner Adam Silver sent out a memo to the league's 30 teams on Thursday titled "Respect in the Workplace."

"We are taking this opportunity to reiterate the NBA’s commitment to providing employees with a safe and inclusive work environment," Silver wrote in the memo obtained by Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania. "Respect and integrity are core NBA values, and we all must work to ensure that they are reflected in the culture and workplaces of our organizations."

Related - Report: Mavs mishandled years of harassment complaints against ex-CEO

A number of interviews were conducted with members of the Mavericks organization, exposing years of sexual harassment complaints against former CEO Terdema Ussery that were not resolved.

Mavs.com writer Earl Sneed was also fired from his position once the S.I. report emerged. Sneed plead guilty to misdemeanor family violence back in 2012, and then hit a female employee he was dating at the time during an argument in 2014.

The Mavericks kept Sneed on the payroll, though, despite his transgressions.

Related - Cuban: 'Horrible mistake' to keep employee after domestic violence incidents

An updated model of the NBA's "Respect in the Workplace" policy was distributed to all 30 teams earlier in the month so it could be reviewed. The league now wants the review completed by March 6, and to "assess any other team policies related to respect in the workplace, ensure they reflect best practices, and send copies of all such updated policies to the league office."

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