NEWS: Donnie Nelson sues Dallas Mavericks

[Kammrath]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/3352...nies-claim

Former longtime Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson sued the team Thursday, alleging that owner Mark Cuban fired him last summer as retaliation for reporting that Cuban's chief of staff sexually harassed and sexually assaulted his nephew during a job interview in 2020.

The lawsuit also alleges that Cuban offered Nelson, who was fired in June, $52 million to withdraw a wrongful termination claim and sign a confidentiality statement related to the alleged harassment and abuse of his nephew.

Nelson, in his lawsuit filed in Dallas County court, says Jason Lutin, described in the lawsuit as Cuban's "right-hand man" and who still works for the team, assaulted and harassed his nephew in a hotel room during the 2020 All-Star Weekend in Chicago. The nephew, a man in his 20s who is not identified in the lawsuit, had been invited by Lutin to his hotel room, the lawsuit says.

Cuban denied Nelson's allegations in an email to ESPN.

"Everything in that filing is a lie," Cuban wrote. "We did multiple complete investigations and the only person that did not live up to the standards of the Dallas Mavericks was Mr. Nelson. He was fired as a result. He was well aware of the investigation. He refused to fully participate. I will say it again, everything he said is a lie."

Lutin also denied the allegations in an email to ESPN and said, "What this man [Nelson] is doing to someone like me is absolutely unspeakable."

"It's a complete lie and I defer to Mavs to comment and who have already dealt with this matter," Lutin said. "And obviously have a lot of information to show none of that ever happened."

[Kammrath]

1) If this is true, then Cynthia Marshall is PART of the cover up.

2) If Cuban offered Donnie a 10-year, $66 million contract in September 2020, then he is a much bigger idiot than I have ever realized.


There is probably some grains of truth in what Donnie is claiming, but I find much of what is being alleged highly unlikely. Of course, that is just me as an outside observer.

[Mavs2021]

I read it as Cuban withdrawing that offer in September. Note that this is 7 months after Donnie claims he learned of the alleged sexual assault against his nephew. So according to Donnie's timeline, he was actively negotiating a 10-year contract with the organization he believed protected a sexual predator who harmed his own family member. And only after that offer was withdrawn and he was fired did he decide to take a principled stand.

This is a mess all around. I'm not sure who to believe. But I'm going to reserve judgement until I hear more details not so clearly leaked by the guy filing the lawsuit.

Find it difficult to follow the timeline in the ESPN article, but it sure makes it sound like Donnie was willing to overlook the sexual harrassment, until he didn´t get his 50M dollars.

Let´s be honest, it´s hard to believe that, just like Cuban, he wasn´t aware of the events happening during the first go-around of this, given his position and tenure within the organization. 

We just can´t have nice things with this team.

[ItsGoTime]

Lesson learned...the second time? NEVER invite a person to your hotel room alone, and NEVER go to a persons hotel room alone.

[ItsGoTime]

2) If Cuban offered Donnie a 10-year, $66 million contract in September 2020, then he is a much bigger idiot than I have ever realized.

Cuban literally only wants to make decisions about the direction of the on court team, that is all. Everything else with regards to running a business, he wants to be able to ignore. It doesn't work that way for the long haul as he is now finding out.

[cjeter24]

https://courtsportal.dallascounty.org/DA...n1D_w2?p=0 -

I was able to find the court filing online. Alot of accusations and little evidence to support the claims that are repeatedly made.

They do reference Cuban's meddling and in particular that he overrode the Giannis pick... So Cuban's failures with the Mavs are public record. They spend a few pages blasting him about different transactions.

[Tyler]

I was able to find the court filing online. 

Great detective work. I appreciate you digging that up and sharing. It's always nice to have first-hand info rather than selectively-edited summaries.

[khaled1987]

1) If this is true, then Cynthia Marshall is PART of the cover up.

2) If Cuban offered Donnie a 10-year, $66 million contract in September 2020, then he is a much bigger idiot than I have ever realized.


There is probably some grains of truth in what Donnie is claiming, but I find much of what is being alleged highly unlikely. Of course, that is just me as an outside observer.

If this is true, then Cuban reign with the Mavs should be over tbh
Too many incidents for it to claim ignorance and innocence.
Obviously Donnie knows that, which make it tempting for him to make such claim. Hope truth prevails this time

[Tyler]

So from a quick scan, here's a high-level summary of Donnie's side in the lawsuit. But definitely read it for yourself in case I missed something.

1. Donnie alleges that a Cuban assistant sexually harassed and assaulted Donnie's nephew at the 2020 All-Star game (it was in February). There are no real details of the event, other than a claim of "a wealthy and powerful executive using their power to take advantage of a vulnerable person and leverage that power to obtain sexual favors."

2. When Donnie's nephew reported it to the team, Cuban paid him to stay quiet. Donnie claims he was never told about the incident by either the team or his nephew.

3. Mark offered Donnie a 10-year, $66mm extension in August. Donnie countered with $77mm. The offer was rescinded in September. Donnie claims that Mark pulled the offer in retaliation for Donnie asking about the sexual harassment/assault incident that he only just learned about*.

4. Donnie was fired in June of 2021. He later filed file a wrongful termination charge with the EEOC.

5. Cuban offered him $52mm in January of 2022 to drop the charge and to sign an NDA.

6. Donnie refused the offer. He is now suing for an undisclosed amount of money.

There's also a ton of "evidence" that IMO comes across as petty and unrelated. Stuff about Cuban meddling in his GM decisions, a weird accusation that a stuffed bear in a noose was a racial threat, and complaints that he didn't even get a special send-off party after "24 years of loyal service". I also find the statements that the Mavs are an organization full of discrimination and sexual depravity kindof tone-deaf coming from one of the top executives in the same organization for more than two decades. But whatever. It's kitchen-sink filing of accusations, for sure. Many clearly intended to harm Cuban publicly even if they'll be tossed out by the judge as unrelated to the case.

I'm sure we'll hear more from Cuban's side of the story soon enough. 

Sigh -- and here I was just being excited that the Mavs are playing great basketball.

(*) BTW, this part of the timeline doesn't really add up to me. Donnie claims that he learned about the incident approximately 5 months after it happened. Since the All-Star game was in February, that would place it in July. That's notably before he started negotiating with Cuban on an extension. So one month after he says that he learned his nephew was assaulted by a team employee, he asked Cuban for $77mm. IMHO, the timing is important because it could potentially tip the circumstances of that contract discussion from retaliation to extortion.

[KillerLeft]

Sigh -- and here I was just being excited that the Mavs are playing great basketball.

Seems like it's always something, doesn't it? 

Regardless of where the blame for any one, specific thing should rightfully fall, there is clearly a problem that starts at the top of this thing, imho.

[cow]

So from a quick scan, here's a high-level summary of Donnie's side in the lawsuit:

1. Donnie alleges that a Cuban assistant sexually assaulted Donnie's nephew at the 2020 All-Star game (it was in February). There are no real details of the assault. 

2. When Donnie's nephew reported it to the team, Cuban paid him to stay quiet. Donnie claims he was never told about the incident by either the team or his nephew.

If #1 & #2 are true and #2 should be really easy to prove, Cuban should get the Donald Sterling treatment.

[ItsGoTime]

If #1 & #2 are true and #2 should be really easy to prove, Cuban should get the Donald Sterling treatment.

Pretty sure if MC paid him and made him sign a NDA, that part of testimony can't be revealed by the Nephew, so it would still be hard to prove. After that, it's Donnie's word against MC's basically. Of course I could be wrong as I'm not a lawyer. There was a time I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express though.

[cow]

Pretty sure if MC paid him and made him sign a NDA, that part of testimony can't be revealed by the Nephew, so it would still be hard to prove. After that, it's Donnie's word against MC's basically. Of course I could be wrong as I'm not a lawyer. There was a time I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express though.

Not a lawyer either but I play one on TV.  An NDA wouldn't prevent testimony in a court of law.  

Considering the recent history of the Mavericks, there is no way Cuban should have been giving out hush money as he and the organization get zero benefit of the doubt.

[ItsGoTime]

An NDA wouldn't prevent testimony in a court of law.

What is the purpose of a NDA then? Now I'm really curious.

[Hypermav]

Seems like it's always something, doesn't it? 

Regardless of where the blame for any one, specific thing should rightfully fall, there is clearly a problem that starts at the top of this thing, imho.

I think Cuban could be in real trouble with the NBA if any of the sexual harrassment stuff was not handled perfectly. I think he is on double secret probation with Silver.  Maybe that is why you offer a ridiculous 52 million to cover up something to keep from losing your team.  idk

[cow]

What is the purpose of a NDA then? Now I'm really curious.

It would prevent the alleged wronged person who signed the agreement and took compensation from going public (writing a book, doing interviews, etc.).  I also should have said, "I don't think an NDA would prevent testimony in a court of law."  I think it's easier to request a seal on the court proceedings of a lawsuit if an NDA is in place as evidenced by the recent circumstances that Jerry Jones has found himself in.

Being a fan of Dallas sports sucks a lot of the time.

[KillerLeft]

Being a fan of Dallas sports sucks a lot of the time.

[ItsGoTime]

Not a lawyer either but I play one on TV.  An NDA wouldn't prevent testimony in a court of law.  

Considering the recent history of the Mavericks, there is no way Cuban should have been giving out hush money as he and the organization get zero benefit of the doubt.

Just googled my question so now I know all the ins and outs of NDAs. Looks like there are provisions to allow testimony in a court of law that are frequently used (doubt it would be in this case, but who knows?). However, ultimately it's up to the judge to rule if it applies, so whoever pays the judge the most under the table gets that ruling!!!

[JamesConway912]

I don’t have an ounce of trust in Cuban and also absolutely none in „Cynt“. No hire ever looked more like a PR move than hers and the whole „zero tolerance policy“ was nothing but spin and typical phony HR stuff to protect the organization. My God how anybody can sell his soul working in that field is baffling to me. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if they tried to pay off Nelson.

This organization would be so much better off without Cuban and his people. Yikes. It’s like my soccer club all over again. Bayern Munich was and remains full off rotten people as well. I stopped following half a decade ago and it’s pretty much repeating itself again now with the Mavs.

Btw: what happened with Ronzone? The scandal with him was also way after the initial SI report and already during the „great“ Cynt‘s reign.

[SleepingHero]

The timing of this is highly suspect. He was arguably the 2nd most powerful person in the Mavs organization at the time of the incident and he sat on it for 2 years? 

Wreaks of blackmail but what do I know? Going to wait for all the facts to come out before I make any judgements.