UNDATED (AP) – The NBA is establishing a confidential hotline for league and team employees to report concerns about misconduct in their workplace. The move comes after a Sports Illustrated report that described a hostile environment for women in the Dallas Mavericks organization. Commissioner Adam Silver sent the memo to teams detailing hotline plans and asking them to review its respect in the workplace policies. The league says “respect and integrity are core NBA values.”
The memo, obtained by The Associated Press and other organizations, asks teams to complete their review of their policies by March 6.
The hotline will allow employees to report concerns “including but not limited to sexual harassment, illegality, or other misconduct,” the memo stated.
It also stated that league office employees were told in December about plans to conduct mandatory, small-group discussions facilitated by outside experts to ensure a full understanding of issues related to sexual harassment and expectations for to behave in the workplace. In the memo, Silver encourages teams to implement the same program in their organizations.
The SI story this week detailed allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by former Mavericks President Terdema Ussery, and said team website reporter Earl Sneed was twice accused of domestic assault while working for the Mavericks.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told the magazine he was “embarrassed” and that it needs to be fixed.
The Mavericks have hired Evan Krutoy and Anne Milgram to lead the independent investigation.
Krutoy served as a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for over 20 years and served as Acting Deputy Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit. Milgram is a professor at New York University School of Law, and a former New Jersey attorney general.
