The NBA’s investigation into the Dallas Mavericks confirmed allegations of widespread sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, the league announced on Wednesday. As a result, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has agreed to donate $10 million to organizations committed to combating domestic violence and supporting the professional development of women in the sports industry.

The $10 million far exceeds the maximum $2.5 million penalty the NBA can levy against an owner, as the league did in response to racist remarks by former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

The NBA has also recommended that the Mavericks increase the number of women on staff, implement regular anonymous employee surveys and revamp both its reporting and investigative processes for sexual harassment claims. The Mavs will be required to provide the league office with quarterly reports on the progress of those recommendations. The team must also immediately report any further instances of workplace misconduct and mandate training for all staff, including Cuban, on issues related to respect in the workplace, domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s statement

“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 in a statement. “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. While nothing will undo the harm caused by a select few former employees of the Mavericks, the workplace reforms and the $10 million that Mark has agreed to contribute are important steps toward rectifying this past behavior and shining a light on a pervasive societal failing — the inability of too many organizations to provide a safe and welcoming workplace for women.”

The allegations against the Mavericks

Following a February 2018 Sports Illustrated article exposing a systematic failure to protect women inside the Mavericks organization, the NBA announced an investigation into the allegations headed by three former prosecutors. The league conducted 215 interviews with current and former Mavericks employees and reviewed more than 1.6 million documents, including electronic correspondence.

That investigation substantiated claims made to Sports Illustrated against former Mavericks president and CEO Terdema Ussery and former Mavs.com reporter Earl Sneed, as well as allegations levied in a Dallas Morning News report against former ticket sales employee Chris Hyde, a.k.a. “Pants DJ.”

According to an NBA statement, the league’s investigation discovered:

• Improper workplace conduct toward fifteen female employees by the Mavericks’ former President and CEO Terdema Ussery, including inappropriate comments, touching, and forcible kissing;

• Improper workplace conduct by former Mavericks ticket sales employee Chris Hyde, including inappropriate comments to women of a sexual nature, the viewing and sharing of pornographic images and videos, unsolicited and unwanted sexual advances, and violent and threatening outbursts toward co-workers; and

• Two acts of domestic violence perpetrated by former Mavs.com reporter Earl Sneed, including one against a team employee.

How much did Mark Cuban know?

While investigators found no evidence that Cuban was aware of the allegations against Ussery prior to the Sports Illustrated report, the NBA’s investigation did fault Mavericks management for failing to fire Sneed and Hyde following their respective incidents of domestic violence and inappropriate behavior.

For more than two decades, management’s missteps “permitted the growth of an environment in which acts of misconduct and the individuals who committed them could flourish,” the NBA said.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will pay $10 million to to women’s causes in the wake of an NBA investigation. (Getty Images) More

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