Late Tuesday night an explosive article was released by Sports Illustrated. The article claims more than a dozen current and ex-Dallas Mavericks employees have characterized working for the Mavs was a hostile work environment, ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence as an “open secret.” The main culprit according to the article was former team President and CEO, Terdema Ussery. Ussery issued a statement to SI on Tuesday that read in part: "I am deeply disappointed that anonymous sources have made such outright false and inflammatory accusations against me. During my career with the Mavericks, I have strived to conduct myself with character, integrity and empathy for others.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who prides himself on being completely hands-on with his organization, claims he was unaware of any improper behavior by employees.
"This is all new to me," he said. "The only awareness I have is because I heard you guys (SI) were looking into some things ... Based off of what I've read here, we just fired our HR person. I don't have any tolerance for what I've read. It's wrong. It's abhorrent."
So how will the NBA respond to these allegations? Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann takes a look at how NBA commissioner Adam Silver will handle it. He notes the 55-year-old commissioner has made gender equality and enhancing leadership opportunities for women key priorities of his administration.