DALLAS (AP) — Former general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, Donnie Nelson, sued the club on Thursday alleging that owner Mark Cuban fired him in retaliation for reporting the sexual misconduct of a team executive.
In a document filed in a Dallas County court, Nelson said his relationship with Cuban went sour when he sought action against a collaborating executive close to the owner for sexually harassing a job applicant.
Unbeknownst to Nelson, Cuban reached a confidential agreement with that person, according to the lawsuit.
The deterioration of his relationship with Cuban, which Nelson said before was one of closeness, reached its worst moment with his dismissal, according to the lawsuit.
When Nelson complained that he was the subject of an unlawful retaliation to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Cuban offered him $52 million to withdraw the lawsuit and agree to a silence agreement, according to the lawsuit.
Nelson also accused Cuban of engaging in a pattern of covering up allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I filed this lawsuit on behalf of my family and all Mavericks employees who have experienced harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace,” Nelson said in a statement.
The Mavericks also issued a statement, in which they stated that the allegations against the club executive “were immediately and thoroughly investigated by external investigators and a lawyer” and “were determined to have been fabricated.”
The team also said that Nelson “refused to cooperate with investigators investigating his conduct. Nelson's claims, of being fired in retaliation, are totally unfounded and today's lawsuit is groundless and full of lies.”
“The Mavs have always tried to keep private the inappropriate actions of Donnie Nelson that led to his dismissal,” the team concluded.
Cuban also rejected the claims to ESPN: “Everything in that document is a lie. We conducted multiple full investigations and the only person who didn't live up to the standards of the Dallas Mavericks was Mr. Nelson. As a result, he was fired.”
In 2018, the NBA examined the 2011 allegations of sexual assault against Cuban as well as the investigation that led prosecutors not to pursue the case.
Commissioner Adam Silver decided not to suspend Cuban after concluding that he was not directly involved in the actions of misconduct towards women within his organization.