Los Angeles Times

Cuban was accused of assault in 2011

- Staff and wire reports

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was investigat­ed in a 2011 alleged sexual assault of a woman in a downtown Portland, Ore., nightclub but wasn’t charged because of insufficie­nt evidence, according to a report from Willamette Week on Tuesday.

The woman, now in her 30s, told Portland police investigat­ors that she saw Cuban at the Barrel Room in April 2011, posed for a picture with him on the advice of a friend who went to the bar with her and claimed Cuban put his hand down the back of her jeans and penetrated her with his finger while the picture was being taken, Willamette Week reported.

Cuban has denied the allegation. The report comes two weeks after Sports Illustrate­d detailed years of sexual harassment and misconduct allegation­s within the Dallas Mavericks organizati­on.

Cuban appeared drunk at the time, the woman told police in 2011. She said she told her friend and boyfriend the same night about the alleged incident. She said she stopped her boyfriend from going back into the bar and confrontin­g Cuban because he also was drunk, the Willamette Week report said.

Barrel Room bartenders and security guards told police they didn’t see the alleged sexual abuse. The woman reported the alleged assault to police more than a week later and was interviewe­d by police more than two weeks after the alleged incident.

A police investigat­or wrote in his report that two pictures with Cuban and the woman shows the NBA team owner with his shoulder nearest to the woman lowered and his arm appearing to be reaching down. One of the pictures shows Cuban’s arm behind the woman and it appearing as if Cuban is reaching toward her buttocks, Willamette Week reported.

The woman’s expression in the photo appears to be one of surprise, the detective noted.

The Multnomah County district attorney’s office determined there was no corroborat­ive evidence to support the woman’s allegation and warrant pursuing criminal charges.

Cavaliers forward Kevin Love wrote in an essay for the Players’ Tribune that he had a panic attack during a game this season and has spent most of his life afraid to accept there was something wrong with him.

“For 29 years, I thought about mental health as someone else’s problem,” he said.

Love says he was stricken with anxiety Nov. 5 during a home game against the Atlanta Hawks. Love adds that he had been under family stress and hadn’t been sleeping well. After briefly being winded while playing 15 minutes in the first half, he felt his heart racing and couldn’t catch his breath during a timeout in the third quarter.

The Cavaliers encouraged Love to see a therapist and he gets counseling a few times a month when the team is at home.

The Phoenix Mercury traded Danielle Robinson to the Minnesota Lynx for the No. 12 pick in the WNBA draft and acquired Briann January from the Indiana Fever for the eighth pick.

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