Former Mavs employee: I think Cuban knew about harassment culture

Former Dallas Mavericks employee Melissa Weishaupt doubled down on her description of a toxic workplace with the team Tuesday. She believes owner Mark Cuban was fully aware of the sexual misconduct that has been described.

"I think Mark knew about it, just because of how people talked in the office," Weishaupt told the Dallas Morning News' Brandon George. "It was a small office. I think Mark knew, and I think Mark just turned a blind eye to it. He was not in the office a lot, but our department dealt with him a lot."

Related: Ex-Mavs employee Weishaupt: Cuban responsible for hostile work culture

Weishaupt identified herself in an open letter in Sports Illustrated this week, a month after her descriptions of a workplace rife with sexual harassment were first published by the magazine. Weishaupt accused former Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery of frequent harassment, while it came out in a report that he had been investigated by the team for similar behavior as far back as 1998.

The initial Sports Illustrated story also led to the termination of Mavs web writer Earl Sneed.

Cuban, known as perhaps the most hands-on owner in the NBA since buying the Mavericks in 2000, has denied knowing about the extent of the issues in the team's front office.

"I know he was very involved with day-to-day decisions," Weishaupt added.
"It's hard for me to believe he just dealt with basketball operations. That's just an untrue statement."

The Mavericks acted quickly in the wake of the scandal, firing Sneed and human resources vice president Buddy Pittman. Ussery left the team in 2015. Cuban has since hired former AT&T executive Cynthia Marshall as interim CEO.

An internal Mavericks investigation is expected to last until early summer. Cuban himself has been linked to a separate 2011 sexual assault investigation in Portland, something the NBA has said it is looking into.