Dallas Mavericks Organization and Owner Mark Cuban Under Fire Over Sexual Allegations
The Dallas Mavericks of the NBA are facing major sexual allegations by current and former employees. The allegations are mostly against the Mavericks' former CEO and President Terdema Ussery for his alleged sexual misconducts.
The entire organization made news worldwide after Sports Illustrated released a report containing all the sexual allegations pointed at the Mavericks' front office. According to the report, sexual misconducts made the office "a corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior."
The report also released a statement from the Dallas Mavericks' current owner Mark Cuban. "This is all new to me. It's wrong. It's abhorrent. It's not a situation we condone," he told SI.
The organization hired outside help to conduct a thorough investigation for the allegations. "The Mavericks organization takes these allegations extremely seriously. Yesterday we notified the league office and immediately hired outside counsel to conduct a thorough and independent investigation," the organization said in a statement. "The Mavericks will provide all necessary resources to ensure that every current and former employees receives appropriate support."
The NBA also released its own statement to address the issue involving the Mavericks. NBA said it will continue to uphold a "safe, respectful, and welcoming" working environment for all its employees.
Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki and coach Rick Carlisle finally spoke out about the allegations. Nowitzki, who has been with the Mavericks since 1998, said in a statement, "It's tough. It's very disappointing. It's heartbreaking. I'm glad it's all coming out. I was disgusted when I read the article, obviously, as everybody was."
"I'm grateful we live in a place and time where people have the courage to speak up about things like this," coach Carlisle said. With the investigation in motion, Cuban is now dealing with backlash amid the issue.
The scandal also resulted into the firing of Mavs beat writer Earl Sneed last Tuesday over his past domestic abuse case back in 2012.
Fans of the Dallas Mavericks are now waiting for new updates on the investigation and if Ussery will be proven guilty of committing sexual misconducts.