Cuban to donate $10M to women's groups after NBA probe
The NBA announced Wednesday that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has agreed to donate $10 million toward programs combating domestic violence and promoting the development of women in the sports industry following an NBA investigation into workplace misconduct.
Some of the Association's key findings include:
- Numerous instances of sexual harassment and other inappropriate conduct within the organization spanning over 20 years
- Improper conduct toward 15 female employees by former Mavericks President and CEO Terdema Ussery, including inappropriate comments, touching, and forcible kissing
- Improper conduct by former Mavericks ticket sales employee Chris Hyde, including inappropriate sexual comments to women, sharing of pornographic images and videos, unwanted sexual advances, and violent and threatening outbursts toward workers
- Two acts of domestic violence by former Mavs.com reporter Earl Sneed
"The findings of the independent investigation are disturbing and heartbreaking and no employee in the NBA, or any workplace for that matter, should be subject to the type of working environment described in the report," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "We appreciate that Mark Cuban reacted swiftly, thoroughly and transparently to the allegations first set forth in Sports Illustrated, including the immediate hiring of Cynthia Marshall as CEO to effect change, but as Mark has acknowledged, he is ultimately responsible for the culture and conduct of his employees."
In response to the findings, the league recommended that the Mavericks increase the number of women on staff, enhance formal reporting processes for victims of misconduct, implement regular anonymous surveys to evaluate workplace culture, and expand and improve the human resources department.
The NBA will require Dallas to provide quarterly reports of its implementation of the league's recommendations, immediately report any instance of significant misconduct by an employee, enhance and update the annual "Respect in the Workplace" training for staff, and implement a program to train all staff on issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment.
For his part, Cuban has apologized for the severity of the incidents and accepted responsibility.
"An apology to the women involved and to their families," Cuban said on ESPN's "The Jump" on Wednesday. "I'm just sorry I didn’t see it and didn’t recognize it. I didn’t know and I don’t have an explanation. And I have to be accountable for it."