Who, what in the Mavericks’ issues
Team investigating ex-president, ex-HR head, fired team writer over allegations
The Dallas Mavericks are accused of protecting two former employees — one with a history of domestic violence, the other an ex-CEO facing allegations of rampant sexual harassment — according to a scathing Sports Illustrated story.
Terdema Ussery was a longtime Mavs executive and was accused by at least two women of sexually harassing them for years.
Earl K. Sneed, a writer for the Mavericks website, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in 2012, according to the report. Sneed was fired this week.
The Mavericks, who are owned by billionaire Mark Cuban, said in a statement released Tuesday that they will launch an independent investigation.
“There is no room for such conduct in the Mavericks’ workplace — or any workplace,” the Mavs said in a statement.
Who are the pertinent figures involved? Ussery,
who was hired by the Mavs in 1997 with the support of former NBA commissioner David Stern, was the focus of an internal investigation in 1998 after several female employees complained of sexual misconduct.
As a result of the investigation, Ussery was retained but the staff received handbooks detailing a revamped policy on sexual harassment. The Mavericks hired Buddy Pittman as the new head of human resources. As Sports Illustrated detailed in its investigation, the internal probe didn’t stop Ussery, who allegedly continued to sexually harass at least two women for years.
Complaints by one of the women to Pittman went unanswered, according to the report. Pittman was fired this week, too.
Cuban bought the team in 2000 and worked with Ussery until he left the team in 2015 for a job at Under Armour. Two months after becoming the president for global sports, he resigned. Ussery, who before joining the Mavericks had been the commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association and also was in a high-profile role with Nike, was a finalist to become the president of the National Basketball Players Association but lost to Michele Roberts in 2014.
Former Mavs.com beat writer Sneed was hired in 2010-11. He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend, who suffered a broken right wrist and bruises to her arms and chest. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, according to Sports Illustrated.
He later had another relationship, this time with a Mavericks co-worker, which was disclosed within the company. That relationship also turned violent. Sneed reportedly hit the woman, leaving her with a swollen face. She reported the incident to HR, but Sneed stayed on with the Mavericks.
Cuban, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, said he was aware of the incident. “I also suggested that we put him through domestic violence training class and then create a zero-tolerance policy that included a variety of things,” Cuban said.
What’s next?
The Mavs have hired an independent law firm, New York-based Krutoy Law, which is headed by Evan Krutoy. He was a prosecutor in the district attorney’s office in Manhattan for more than 22 years and handled high-profile rape and murder cases. He also was the acting deputy bureau chief of the sex crimes unit, according to his website.
Lowenstein Sandler lawyer Anne Milgram, a former attorney general of New Jersey, will work in conjunction with the Kutroy law firm.
The NBA will have access to all findings in the independent report.
Independent investigations sometimes take months, if not longer, to complete and require interviews, examination of records, emails and legal documents.
Krutoy will write a report following his investigation and deliver his findings. The independent investigation will aim to find, among other facts, who know what and when they knew it and if other current and former employees were involved.
In 1998, under previous ownership, the Mavs did not conduct an independent investigation into Ussery’s behavior and instead used an in-house attorney to review the matter, according to The Dallas Morning News.
What will the NBA do?
In its statement about the situation, the league said, “We will closely monitor the independent investigation into this matter.”
This is NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s second major crisis since he took over for David Stern on Feb. 1, 2014. Shortly after becoming commissioner, Silver had to manage the Donald Sterling crisis, in which the former Los Angeles Clippers owner used racially insensitive language.
Silver acted quickly, first fining Sterling $2.5 million — the maximum allowed under the NBA’s constitution — and moved Sterling to sell the team before owners voted on forcing him out.
Depending on what the independent investigation reveals, Silver has punitive options at his disposal, per the NBA’s constitution and bylaws.