In a recent article, Sports Illustrated uncovered a culture of
sexual harassment that has plagued the Dallas Mavericks franchise
going back to the 1990s. The consequences enabling such an
environment will be up to NBA
commissioner Adam Silver as the league constitution gives Silver
the power to severely punish any franchise, owner, or team employee
who he believes is guilty of conduct prejudicial or detrimental to
the NBA. Silver has taken equality issues
seriously, even moving the 2017 NBA All
Star Game from Charlotte to New Orleans following North
Carolina's enactment of "the bathroom bill" which
limited anti-discrimination protections. Additionally, in recent
years major sports leagues in the U.S. have not taken scandals like
this one lightly. In 2014, NBA owner
Donald Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers and
received a lifetime ban after he was recorded making racist
remarks. More recently, in 2017, NFL
owner Jerry Richardson came under fire for sexual harassment and
has since announced he will sell the Carolina Panthers. The
consequences for the Mavericks may not be so substantial as
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was not accused of sexual harassment
himself but there are still questions about his knowledge of the
situation. Considering the extent of the scandal and Cuban's
hands-on ownership approach, some find it hard to believe he
didn't at least have knowledge of the situation. Cuban has
stated that he has no tolerance for the events exposed by the
article and has already fired the human resources director. It will
be interesting to see what kind of message Silver decides to
deliver when he ultimately determines what consequences are
appropriate for the situation.
https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/20/dallas-mavericks-sexual-misconduct-investigation-mark-cuban-adam-silver
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