San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
BREAKING HIS SILENCE
POPOVICH DEFENDS TEAM’S RESPONSE TO PRIMO ALLEGATIONS
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich vigorously defended the franchise’s handling of complaints from a former team psychologist that guard Josh Primo exposed himself to her nine times during private counseling sessions.
“Anybody that has observed the Spurs over a very long period of time knows that an accusation like this would be taken very seriously without any doubt whatsoever,” Popovich said Friday in his most direct response yet to the explosive allegations against Primo. “No equivocation, the Spurs organization would be on top of it.”
The 73-year-old coach and president of the club’s basketball operations added that he is “absolutely confident the men and women on the managerial staff that dealt and are dealing with” the matter have done so “purposefully, efficiently, promptly” and with “the utmost care for everybody concerned — the accuser, the accused, the people in the organization — to make sure that everybody felt comfortable and safe.”
Hillary Cauthen, a consulting sports psychologist for the Spurs, went public with her allegations against Primo on Thursday, holding a news conference at her attorney’s office in Houston after filing a civil lawsuit against the player and the team.
Cauthen contends that Primo, 19, exposed his genitals to her during one-on-one sessions, and that despite her complaints to Spurs executives, including general manager Brian Wright, the organization took no action against Primo.
Her lawsuit, filed in state district court in Bexar County, accuses Primo and the Spurs of gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
The Bexar County Sheriff ’s Office said Friday that it is conducting a criminal investi
gation into Cauthen’s allegations against Primo.
Cauthen’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, did not respond to a request for comment on Popovich’s remarks.
A Los Angeles-based attorney for Primo, William J. Briggs II, has dismissed Cauthen’s allegations as “either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy.” Briggs said Primo “never intentionally” exposed himself to Cauthen and “was not even aware that his private parts were visible outside of his workout shorts.”
The Spurs selected Primo 12th overall in the 2021 NBA draft after he had played one season of college ball at Alabama. He was seen as a potential cornerstone of the franchise’s rebuilding effort.
On Oct. 28, in one of the most shocking personnel moves in team history, the Spurs abruptly waived the second-year player. The club offered no explanation beyond a statement from CEO R.C. Buford that expressed “our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua.”
The next day, the Express-News and other media outlets reported that the Spurs cut ties with Primo because he had been accused of exposing himself to women. Cauthen is the first to come forward and accuse him publicly.
Her lawsuit accuses the Spurs of “turning a blind eye to indications that Primo was seeking sex rather than legitimate therapy,” and of “failing to warn (Cauthen) of Primo’s proclivities and his past conduct.”
The suit alleges that Primo first exposed himself to Cauthen in December 2021 and that she made Wright aware of the incident in January, when she requested a meeting with him.
Wright met with her on March 21 after repeated postponements, and Cauthen told him “she was uncomfortable meeting with Primo alone and she expressed feelings of confusion, embarrassment and fear,” according to the lawsuit.
Wright promised to develop a plan for “how to navigate” the situation, and he and Cauthen discussed meeting with Primo and his agent, Todd Ramasar, to discuss the player’s conduct, the suit states.
But “nothing was done about Primo’s behavior,” according to the lawsuit. Cauthen was asked to meet with Primo again, and she did so in an unspecified public place — but he again exposed himself to her, according to the suit. Primo requested at least one other session with Cauthen, but she found a way to avoid it, her complaint says.
In May, Cauthen had the first of several meetings with Spurs attorneys, according to the lawsuit. A week later, Spurs deputy general counsel Brandon James and team executive Kara Allen told Cauthen that Primo would continue to participate in team activities despite her complaints, and that she could work from home if it would make her more comfortable, according to the lawsuit.
In June, James and Allen told Cauthen that Popovich was aware of her accusations and that he “wanted to do right by her,” the suit states.
In July, Spurs attorneys told Cauthen she would not accompany the Spurs’ summer league team to a tournament in Las Vegas because “she was unable to do her job in a professional manner due to what was now a lack of trust between her and the team,” the suit states. The Spurs did not renew her contract after it expired Aug. 31.
Meeting with reporters before Friday’s game, Popovich was asked whether he was aware in June of Cauthen’s complaints against Primo, as her lawsuit claims.
“I understand your question and your desire to get as many details as you can, but as you also know, this is in the hands of lawyers now,” Popovich said. “They are going to talk about it, they are going to argue about it, they are going to go back and forth. That’s what they do. So while that is going on, I can’t talk about details.”
Popovich added that he supported a statement issued by Buford on Thursday, in which the Spurs CEO said the team disputes Cauthen’s “facts, details and timeline” but could not go into specifics. Buford added, “Our organization remains committed to upholding the highest standards and will continue to live by our values and culture.”
Buzbee said at a news conference Thursday at his office in Houston that he believed Spurs executives lied to Cauthen when they told her in June that Popovich knew about of her allegations against Primo.
“She had great respect for coach Popovich,” Buzbee said. “I think a lot of people see him as a progressive coach, somebody who speaks out on social issues, somebody who talks about culture. She insisted he be aware of what was going on. She was told that he was aware about what was going on.”
Buzbee added, “I think we may have concluded here that at that point in time, she was being lied to.”
Cauthen’s suit states that Primo committed acts of indecent exposure against other women, “one apparently in Nevada and one in Minnesota.” Those allegations have not been verified, and the suit offered no details.
Primo was in Las Vegas in July as a member of the Spurs’ summer league squad, and the Spurs were in Minneapolis from Oct. 24-26 to play the Timberwolves. Buzbee said Thursday that he believed the alleged incident in Minnesota “precipitated Mr. Primo being released from the team.”
The Spurs waived Primo just two weeks after picking up his third-year option, a move that guaranteed him $4.3 million next season on top of $4.1 million this season. He cleared waivers last week and is an unrestricted free agent.