Former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson reportedly filed a lawsuit against the team on Thursday. In it, he alleges that owner Mark Cuban fired him last summer as retaliation after Nelson reported that Cuban’s chief of staff sexually harassed and sexually assaulted his nephew during a 2020 job interview, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.
Nelson also alleges that Cuban offered him $52 million to sign a confidentiality statement and withdraw a wrongful termination claim.
The lawsuit alleges that Cuban’s “right-hand man,” Jason Lutin, assaulted Nelson’s nephew—a man who is in his 20s—during All-Star Weekend in Chicago in 2020. The incident allegedly occurred in Lutin’s hotel room. Lutin still works for the team, per ESPN.
Cuban responded to the lawsuit in an email to ESPN, denying the claims.
“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 Nelson’s claims in an emailed response, calling the suit “a complete lie” and adding that he had “a lot of information to show none of that ever happened.”
The lawsuit describes Lutin as a “sexual predator,” and lambasts Cuban for allegedly, “repeatedly ignoring and repeatedly covering up high level executives’ sexual harassment and discrimination against Mavericks’ employees.” It also claims that Cuban withdrew a 10-year contract extension from Nelson as a direct result of Nelson’s report of Lutin’s misconduct.
Nelson alleges that his nephew met Lutin to discuss a potential job opportunity in the sports and entertainment industry. After Nelson, his nephew and Lutin met for lunch, Lutin invited the nephew to his hotel room to “discuss job possibilities.”
“Lutin asked Nelson’s nephew to sit next to him on the bed and then sexually harassed and sexually assaulted an unsuspecting, vulnerable LGBTQ young man seeking employment with the Mavericks,” the lawsuit states. “Lutin’s numerous policy violations and indiscretions were clearly in breach of the Mavericks supposed ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.”
The lawsuit claims that Cuban’s covering up of Lutin’s assault was part of an attempt to avoid public backlash. In 2018, an SI investigation revealed a toxic workplace environment within the Mavericks organization in which instances of sexual harassment and domestic violence were an “open secret.” In a subsequent 2018 interview with ESPN, Cuban expressed regret for letting that type of misconduct occur under his watch.
“In hindsight, it was staring me right in the face and I missed it ... It just never in my wildest dreams that I think that this was happening right underneath me,” Cuban said. “And I never—the pain that people went through, the pain that people shared with me as this happened, the tears that I saw ... it just, it hurt. And the way I felt is nothing compared to the way they felt. ... I mean, I have to recognize I made a mistake, learn from it and then try to fix it.”
