Magic Johnson denies bullying Lakers staff: I 'uplift the employees'

Magic Johnson vehemently denied recent claims made by Los Angeles Lakers staffers that he used bullying tactics toward his subordinates during his time as president of basketball operations.

"I've been in business 35 years. I've had partnerships with some of the biggest companies - Fortune 500 companies - in the country. Now, I've never sat in an HR person's office in 35 years. Two years with the Lakers, no HR appearance," said Johnson during an appearance on SportsCenter on Tuesday evening.

"Do you think Jeanie Buss will allow me to abuse the employees? If that was the case, she would have called me in. Joe McCormack would have called me in, the lawyer for the Lakers, as well as Dan, the other lawyer. It never happened. I'm a person who brings everybody together, uplift the employees. I've never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."

An unnamed Lakers front-office staffer told ESPN's Baxter Holmes that Johnson "used intimidation and bullying as a way of showing authority." Multiple staffers claimed Johnson said they were all replaceable during a gathering following the 2016-17 season. He then pointed to his office and the stack of resumes he had sitting on his desk, which one coaching staff member described as "shocking."

"Now a lot of Laker employees didn't like that I held them accountable. That's what my job was," added Johnson. "Did I have to fire some people? Yes, because we had to bring about change and get better. I think we got a great staff. I'll say this right now: The Lakers got a great staff. What's gotta happen now is we gotta get out the news. I'm really upset that I'm here talking about that."

Johnson abruptly stepped down from his position prior to the Lakers' 2018-19 season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 9, citing "all of the backstabbing" as part of the reason why he was leaving the organization.