His co-workers called him "Pants DJ." He would sit at his desk in the Dallas Mavericks ticket sales office, stare at pornographic images on his cellphone or computer and rub himself below his belt line.

He'd often call co-workers over to show them pictures on his phone that he'd taken of women in lingerie, topless or naked. He once dropped a used condom onto the office floor.

This pattern of behavior, described by seven current and former Mavericks employees who spoke to The Dallas Morning News on the condition of anonymity, continued for six years despite a warning from owner Mark Cuban that he stop viewing pornography on his office computer.

The senior account executive, who worked for the Mavericks for 15 years, was one of the central figures who helped cultivate a sexually charged work environment in the NBA franchise's corporate office, according to the current and former employees interviewed by The News.

Despite this behavior, five of the former employees said they never formally complained to human resources because they believed the actions were common knowledge and generally accepted by superiors.

The story of Chris Hyde's tenure with the Mavericks, which ended when he was fired in 2014, provides more insight into misbehavior first exposed by a Sports Illustrated report in February. It also shows that Cuban knew more about misconduct in the workplace than had been previously reported.

Cuban declined to comment on the record about the allegations against Hyde, citing a continuing investigation initiated by the Mavericks in the wake of the SI report. He referred questions to new CEO Cynthia Marshall.

"As readers of the DMN know, we cannot comment because of the ongoing investigation," Marshall said by email. "It has been previously stated that the employee referenced was terminated years ago."

After the SI report, the Mavericks quickly hired Marshall, a 58-year-old, high-profile human resources executive who had a 36-year career at AT&T, to clean up the non-basketball operations side of the organization.

The Mavericks also made two other hires: Tarsha LaCour, a Houston native and product of Texas A&M, as senior vice president of human resources; and Cyndee Wales, a Californian who has been in Texas for 10 years, as chief ethics and compliance officer.

"As I mentioned in the February 26th press conference, we will respond swiftly to the investigators' findings," Marshall said. "They are conducting a thorough investigation and we are anxiously awaiting their report. In the meantime, we are executing on our 100-day plan and ensuring that the Dallas Mavericks is a great place to work for all."

Hyde did not respond to repeated phone messages requesting comment for this story. A reporter from The News twice went to Hyde's Dallas apartment and left messages that went unreturned. Additionally, The News mailed a letter to Hyde's home address asking for comment on the allegations against him.

Jeff Anderson, a Dallas-area lawyer who said he is advising Hyde, would not comment on Hyde's behavior. He issued the following statement in response to the The News' letter:

"Mr. Hyde has always been treated fairly by the Mavericks. That did not stop during or after the process of his separation from the organization."

Workplace misconduct

Three former employees with firsthand knowledge of Hyde's behavior told The News that he showed them pornography on his computer or cellphone multiple times, from as far back as the early 2000s until just before he left the franchise in 2014.

In early 2008, Hyde told a former employee whom he had worked with for more than a decade that Cuban had warned Hyde he'd be fired if he continued to possess erotic photos on his office computer. Hyde also told the former co-worker that he had apologized to Cuban and promised there would be no further incidents.

For several months, according to the former employee, Hyde seemed to heed Cuban's warning. But Hyde -- now 57 -- eventually returned to his earlier behavior.

One former employee explained the "Pants DJ" nickname as "like what a DJ does on a turntable because it looks like he's kind of rubbing his leg."

Two former male employees said Hyde continued to show them photos and videos of topless or naked women on his cellphone while at work for years after Cuban's 2008 warning.

One of the men said Hyde showed him erotic photos and videos on his phone as many as 30 times, with about half of those occurrences coming after the warning. The former employee said it "might have slowed him down for six months, but it didn't stop him."

The other former employee said Hyde went as far as to bring in his own external hard drive so he could view pornography at work and avoid going through the Mavericks' computer system.

A woman who worked for the Mavericks in the early 2000s described the job as "70 percent dream job, 30 percent sexual comments, jokes and advances."

The woman, whose cubicle was close to Hyde's, said he would often get her attention so she'd look over the partition separating their desks and see pornography on his computer screen. This carried on over the course of three years, she said.

Until now, the only Mavericks employees named in allegations reported by SI, Deadspin and The News have been former president and CEO Terdema Ussery and since-fired Mavs.com reporter Earl K. Sneed. During The News' more than two-month investigation into sexual harassment and, allegedly in Sneed's case, domestic violence, former employees also alleged inaction by some Mavericks executives.

Marshall, the Mavericks-hired investigative team led by lawyers Evan Krutoy and Anne Milgram, and the NBA are tasked with determining if the alleged actions of Ussery, Sneed and Hyde are symptomatic of a "corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory behavior," as described by SI, or isolated examples among the estimated 200 people who have worked for the Mavericks during Cuban's 18-year ownership.

Team's top salesman

Despite common knowledge around the office of Hyde's lewd behavior, he was allowed to keep his job until 2014. His firing was not related to his porn-viewing habits in the office or the condom incident, according to four sources.

Hyde regularly finished as the top earner in ticket sales, according to five of the former co-workers interviewed by The News. On his personal LinkedIn page, Hyde described himself as the Mavericks' "number one sales generator for 15 straight years which produced $75 million in revenue."

The co-workers said that while they were scraping by on minimal salaries, Hyde drove a Maserati. He would brag to co-workers about hosting parties at a luxury apartment across the street from American Airlines Center that he shared with a longtime Mavericks season-ticket holder. Hyde also maintained a four-bedroom home with a pool and spa near Riverchase Golf Course in Coppell that he sold in June for $432,000, according to property records.

In many cases, according to two former employees, the photos Hyde would show male co-workers at the office had been taken by him at the apartment. One of the former employees visited the apartment with Hyde, although he said nothing out of the ordinary took place that night.

The condom incident

Three former employees said they spotted a used condom on the office floor shortly after Hyde walked out of a bathroom near the front of the Mavs' sales office after lunch in early 2011. One of the employees said he had seen the condom fall from Hyde's pants leg as he was walking.

Two of the co-workers said they had witnessed Buddy Pittman, the Mavericks vice president of human resources, pick up the used condom with a paper towel before disposing of it.

Cuban was alerted about the condom incident, two sources said, but Hyde kept his job for three more years.

Pittman, who was suspended by Cuban in response to the SI story, did not respond to multiple phone calls from The News requesting comment for this story. A reporter from The News went to Pittman's home and knocked on his door and was told by Pittman's wife that he did not wish to comment.

Six current and former employees said the organization tried to put a Band-Aid on the Hyde situation about a year after the condom incident by moving the desks of several employees in the sales department in early 2012. Hyde was moved from close to the front of the ticket sales office to near the back, "where it was much more secluded," one source added.

Until October, the Mavericks business offices were located a few miles from American Airlines Center in a large warehouse converted into an office space that left little room for privacy because of the chest-high cubicle walls.

Response to report

Four former employees said they were surprised that some Mavericks executives in charge of the departments in question remain employed as allegations and details continue to surface.

The Mavericks didn't fire Ussery, the longtime team president and focal point of the SI report, despite multiple accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments by him during his 18 years with the organization. Ussery left the franchise in 2015 for an executive position at Under Armour, only to resign less than two months into that job. Cuban told SI he had had no previous knowledge of the allegations against Ussery.

Sneed, the writer for the team website, remained employed despite two domestic violence incidents, one of which involved a co-worker. Cuban, who fired Sneed when the SI report was published, admitted to ESPN that the decision to keep Sneed had been a "horrible mistake in hindsight."

The investigation could wrap up as early as the end of this month, Marshall recently told The News.

"It's been incredibly thorough," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the investigation at a board of governors meeting in mid-April in New York. "It includes interviewing every single employee of the Mavericks organization, plus every former employee who is willing to make themselves available to the investigators.

"From everything I've heard directly from the investigators, everyone has been completely cooperative," he said. "And by the way, it doesn't just include interviews. It includes documents, it includes emails.

"And that's come directly from Mark Cuban. He's told the investigators that and he's told the league office that as well, that he is open book, and he's demanding himself a thorough investigation. So we're waiting for the outcome of that."

None of the former employees interviewed by The News have spoken to the investigators hired by the Mavericks, but all have expressed a willingness to cooperate.

Staff writer Brad Townsend contributed to this report.

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