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Donnie Nelson
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Monika Sandel / Event Press / IMAGO
Longtime Dallas Mavericks manager Donnie Nelson has sued Dirk Nowitzki's former NBA club.
Nelson accused the franchise of being fired last summer for reporting sexual assault and harassment by an employee of Mavs owner Mark Cuban, according to an ESPN report.
The criminal complaint also alleges that Cuban offered $52 million in exchange for Nelson dropping his charges and swearing to confidentiality.
Cuban told ESPN that "everything about the indictment is a lie.
We conducted several investigations and the only person who didn't live up to the Dallas Mavericks' claims was Mr. Nelson." He was then "fired."
The Dallas Mavericks added in a statement that the allegations "have been determined to be fabricated after careful review by outside investigators and attorneys."
The NBA announced that it had been briefed on the allegations and the Mavericks' investigation.
According to Nelson, the incidents happened at a job interview in 2020.
According to ESPN, the document, which was filed with a Dallas County court, alleges that Jason Lutin - described there as Cuban's "right hand man" - sexually harassed and assaulted Nelson's nephew.
The nephew, a man in his 20s who was not named, was invited by Lutin to his hotel room.
The AP news agency only writes that it was a job applicant.
Lutin also rejects the allegations
"I have filed this lawsuit on behalf of my family and all Mavericks employees who have experienced harassment, discrimination or retaliation in the workplace," Nelson said in a statement, according to the AP.
Lutin denied the allegations in a statement to ESPN.
In 2018, an independent commission had already investigated allegations against the Mavericks.
The result: There were cases of sexual harassment.
The chief suspect was former club president Terdema Ussery, who left the club in 2015.
Cuban donated $10 million to organizations fighting domestic violence and promoting women in sport.
Nelson was with the Mavericks for 24 years.
From 1998, initially as an assistant coach alongside his father, Don Nelson.
In 2005 he succeeded him as General Manager.
ngo/dpa/sid/AP
