Upcoming SI story to talk about alleged sexual assault in the Dallas Mavericks organization

Truly idiotic statement by Cuban. Can he really not know how lawsuits and liability work? This guy employs how many people?

 

I'm a Christian. Some Christians do bad things regularly. Trust and believe they sleep well, go to church and are usually the first to cast the first stone.

 

No need to mention Disney since as you noted, ESPN, Rachel Nichols, pretty much all the ESPN shows covered it...and they have NBA rights. Fox Sports covered it and they don't have NBA rights. NBC are busy with the Olympics.
Now let's see if TNT covers it. From what we know about EJ, Charles, Kenny, etc. I'm sure they will.

 

Dirk on Mavericks allegations: 'Truly disgusting'

 

I'm curious as to why. The Mavs have ALWAYS been inconsequential to Houston as far as basketball is concerned. There just isn't the same history as with profootball between the two cities where Dallas has been more successful (in the past) than Houston ever was. The Mavs were an absolute joke in the 80s and 90s. What changed for them was (1) Cuban buying the team and (2) the drafting of Dirk. Cuban poured much needed resources into the organization and got the American Airlines Center built to replace the old Reunion Area. As far as the Rockets are concerned, Dallas basketball and the Mavs didn't even register until they won the 2011 NBA Championship. In the seven years since, they (Mavs) have become irelevant again thanks in large part to Cuban's dumbassery.

 

When you promote yourself as the "Smartest Guy In The Room" you can't suddenly plead ignorance when the **** hits the wall. Kevin Sherrington's article pretty much sums it up for me:

http://biz.centurylink.net/news/rea...rrington_how_on_earth_could_mark_cuban_ha-tca

 

One final point to be made: Ussery was team President in 1998 when Cuban bought the Mavs. At that time there was a DMN story about alegations of sexual misconduct against him that were never acted on. I believe this happened because at the time, he was busy working on getting funding for the new arena - indeed he was instrumental in getting the $240M for the AAC. With Cuban being the micromanager that he was at the time, there is literally NO way he could have been "unaware" of the situation. Indeed, it's been an open secret about Animal House" atmosphere over at the offices for years. What you are now seeing from Cuban and the Mavs is a classic case of damage control. Here's hoping they do a better job than did Baylor.

 

That Cuban excuse is mind boggling.

 

"He may be a woman-beater, but he's OUR woman beater!"

 

basically. It is outrageous!

 

First Cuban claims ignorance, then admits he knew all about Sneed's history about domestic violence but none of the "gruesome" details. Then when Sneed assaults a fellow Mavericks employee Cuban says he didn't want to fire him because he didn't want it to happen anywhere else. What kind of sick, twisted logic is that?

If Cuban knew that much about a beat writer and handled it that poorly, why should I believe he knew nothing about his freaking CEO and head of HR?

 

Thank you.

 

OK, this is from Dallasbasketball.com's Mike Fisher - the chief Mavs apologist. Even he ain't buying Cuban's "explanation":

https://scout.com/nba/mavericks/Art...nt-Animal-House-And-What-Comes-Next-115367299

On Alleged Mavs Sexual-Harassment 'Animal House' And What's Next
'Gruesome And Grotesque': On Alleged Dallas Mavericks Sexual-Harassment 'Animal House' - And What Comes Next

• Mike Fisher - Feb 20, 10:59 PM

In the early afternoon of Tuesday, Terdema Ussery issued a moving eulogy at the memorial service for Dallas Mavericks founder Don Carter. Ussery, Watts-raised and Princeton- and Harvard-educated, was the model of peaceful dignity.

In the early evening of Tuesday, Ussery - the former Mavs team president - found himself at the epicenter of a sexual-harassment scandal that is allegedly wide-spread inside the front office of owner Mark Cuban's franchise.

And suddenly, there is no peace. There is no dignity.

Somebody wrote, in reflection on the new investigative report from Sports Illustrated about inappropriate conduct in the workplace, that the Mavs are "stung'' by the charges. But in fact, the behavior of Ussery (who left the club three years ago) was not a secret. And the behavior of staffer Earl K. Sneed (who was fired on Tuesday) was not a secret to his bosses, either.

Cuban and the Mavs on Tuesday - about an hour before the SI expose was published - issued a pre-emptive statement that reads, in part: "The Dallas Mavericks have received information about behavior in our workplace that appears to have violated the organization's standards of conduct. It has been alleged that a former officer of the organization engaged in various acts of inappropriate conduct toward women over a period of years. This individual left the employment of the Mavericks nearly three years ago and the Mavericks have only learned of the scope of these complaints in the past days. ... In a separate matter, we have also learned that an employee misled the organization about a prior domestic violence incident. This employee was not candid about the situation and has been terminated.

"There is no room for such conduct in the Mavericks’ workplace—or any workplace.''

But, alas ... there was room. Until the club learned of SI's plans to publish.

The Ussery allegations center on what could be termed "serial sexual harassment.'' There are also allegations regarding staffer Buddy Pittman's cover-up of incidents. And then there are the allegations that Sneed was the perpetrator in a pair of domestic violence incidents with two different women. "What did Cuban know and when did he know it?'' is a natural question. The owner is certain aware of the conflict that exists in his testimony to SI that he was unaware of what the magazine terms his "toxic workplace'' while having spend the entirety of his ownership proudly noting his deep level of involvement in all aspects of the organization.

From Cuban to SI: "I want to deal with this issue. I mean ... obviously there's a problem in the Mavericks organization and we've got to fix it. That's it. And we're going to take every step. It's not something we tolerate. I don't want it. It's not something that's acceptable. I'm embarrassed, to be honest with you, that it happened under my ownership, and it needs to be fixed. Period. End of story."

But, alas ... it's not the end of the story. It's only the beginning.

In 1998, my colleague Richie Whitt broke the story of the Mavericks conducting an internal investigation about Ussery's behavior toward female employees. Then-owner Ross Perot Jr.'s response to the finding was to overhaul the employee handbook. Twenty years later, we are back where we started. Cuban, to his credit, will almost certainly do more about this than re-write a handbook. The "Me Too'' Movement calls for more; common sense and common decency does, as well.

The Mavericks say they've hired outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. The NBA itself will surely get involved as well. And yes, commissioner Adam Silver has the authority to punish the team, and its owner, in virtually any manner he sees as fitting. The league's reaction is among the many coming storylines here, storylines that come in the form of personal reflection (as a 35-year journalist who has covered the Mavs since 1990, how did I overlook so much of this?) and in the form of basketball impact. Yes, the questions extend from the very top of the organization right down to the floor, where Dirk Nowitzki serves as a face of a franchise that's now been exposed as being covered with ugly warts and deep gashes.

The lone slice of good news served by the expose: The accusers, to a person, say the locker room is actually the safest place in the building, and that the players are not part of the harassment problem. The lingering bad feeling: Does this impact Nowitzki's decision regarding playing one more season?

Dirk's loyalty to Dallas has always seemed unbreakable. But that was before we all learned about a flaw so unbearable.

This isn't about being 18-40. This isn't about Organic Tanking. This isn't about the labor involved in a rebuilt from a 2011 NBA title that now seems like ancient history.

This is bigger than all of it.

Defining the "culture'' of a workplace is a favorite theme of the Mavs; they habitually define theirs as valued and positive. But "culture'' is larger than a locker room and interpretations can be infinite. Maybe Ussery's exit marks a monumental step forward. Maybe Sneed's behavior was an outlier.

But what police and accusers say about Sneed is gruesome, and what history and accusers say about Ussery is grotesque.

No press release, no handbook, no apology, changes that.

These are dark days in Dallas and they somehow just turned a darker shade of dark.
"We are committed - to our employees, our team and our fans - to meet the goals of dignity, security and fairness that define the Dallas Mavericks,'' the team said in its statement, but tragically, "dignity, security and fairness'' are fleeting. Words like that fit Terdema Ussery in the early afternoon of Tuesday ... and after the early evening of Tuesday, probably never will again. Words like that simply do not "define the Dallas Mavericks'' at this moment, either.

It is midnight now as I write this. Former Mavs boss Don Carter is in the ground and present Mavs boss Mark Cuban is in turmoil. And me? I'm heartbroken for the victims, angry at the perpetrators, alarmed about the naive and embarrassed for the fans. That about covers it.

Author
Mike Fisher @FishSports

 

Mark Cuban Is the Face of the Mavericks, and Now He Is the Face of Their Shame

 

It's refreshing to see how the NBA deals with these stuff compared to the NFL. Where it's pretty much sweep everything under the rug and try to get anyone who speaks to get fired.

It's nice to see Silver stepping up cause you know this probably happens to various degrees in all NBA teams.

 

I hope the NBA comes down hard on the Dallas Mavericks. I just hate that team. I hope they take away the first round pick from them this year and next year as a punishment for covering up this issue....lmao

 

"Hello, this is the NBA Hotline. May I help you."
"The Rockets and Daryl Morey screwed me!"
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"I KNOW MY RIGHTS!"
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