NBA Independent Workplace Survey Mavericks Confirms Misconduct and Creates New Policies to Move Forward

Seven months later Illustrated Sports Investigation revealed malpractice at the Mavericks leadership level, owner Mark Cuban has agreed to donate $ 10 million to "organizations that promote women in leadership roles and fight domestic violence", announced the NBA in a statement.

The statement was made after an independent law firm interviewed 215 current or former employees and confirmed "numerous cases of sexual harassment" and other forms of misconduct within of the organization Mavericks "over a period of more than 20 years".

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban apologized on Wednesday afternoon in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols.

"Apologies to the women involved, the women who in a few cases have been assaulted – not just for them, but for their families," Cuban said in an interview with Rachel Nichols ESPN. "Because it's not an incident and it's over. He stays with the people, he stays with the families and I'm sorry I did not see him.

"I'm sorry I did not recognize it and I just hope it will all be better, and we can avoid it and help everyone to be smarter."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski will impose sanctions on Dallas that will allow him to make changes to his reports, staff and policy to improve his culture. The league also fined the Mavericks $ 2.5 million.

The investigation began after Sports Illustrated Jon Wertheim and Jessica Luther interviewed dozens of Mavericks employees who painted "an image of a corporate culture full of misogyny and predatory sexual behavior." The independent investigation confirms that this behavior included:

• Examples of "inappropriate comments, touching and forced kissing" by former President and CEO Terdema Ussery
• Two acts of domestic violence – one against a colleague – by the former writer Mavs.com Earl Sneed. Sneed was fired shortly after Illustrated Sports story
• Graphic forms of inappropriate driving in the workplace by Chris Hyde, former Mavericks ticket salesman

The independent law firm also made recommendations for the evolution of the Mavericks organization:

• Increase the number of women in the workforce, including in management positions;
• Improvement of official reporting processes for victims of misconduct;
• Establishment of regular anonymous surveys of employees to assess the culture of the workplace; and
• Expand and improve the Mavericks Human Resources department and put in place clear protocols for investigating misconduct.

"The findings of the independent investigation are troubling and heartbreaking and no NBA employee, nor even the workplace, should be subjected to the type of work environment described in the report," said Commissioner Adam Silver. a statement.

You can read the full statement of the NBA here.