Following a seven-month investigation that resulted from a February 2018 Sports Illustrated article by Jon Wertheim and Jessica Luther that detailed allegations of a corrosive workplace environment that included a corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior, the Mavericks have released the results of the independent study.
The 43-page report includes 13 recommendations that include calls for an increase in the number of women throughout the organization, including in leadership and supervisory roles, clarification in Mark Cuban’s role in the business organization, and regular training for all employees on sexual harassment.
According to the report, of the 215 witnesses who participated in the study, that included current and former Mavericks employees and individuals with knowledge relevant to the investigations, “not a single victim of [former Mavs President and CEO Terdema] Ussery’s harassment, or any other person, reported that he or she informed Cuban of the misconduct.”
However, the report did acknowledge Cuban was also rarely physically present at the Mavs front office headquarters despite an active owner who conducted most of his work remotely.
The report goes on to say, Cuban acknowledged, “you have to be around the culture to see the culture; I learned the hard way.”
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski “Cuban and the NBA have agreed that he’ll donate $10M to organizations that promote women in leadership roles and combat domestic violence.”
By league standards, the NBA can only levy a fine of up to $2.5 million.
New-Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall and special counsel Anne Milgram of Lowenstein Sandler LLP will hold a special news conference to discuss the findings of the report at 3:15 p.m. at American Airlines Center.
The press conference can be watched live at mavs.com/rebound.
The full report can be read here.
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