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The article said Ussery, who was once a rising star in the profession, had engaged in “various acts of inappropriate conduct toward women,” and that Earl Sneed, a former writer for the team’s official website, had faced numerous allegations of domestic violence.
Although Cuban did not face accusations of misconduct, the employees who were mistreated suggested the harassment had gone on for years and that he must have known about it and had done little to prevent it.
The findings of that investigation were released Wednesday as a part of a 43-page report. Among other things, it was determined that Ussery had engaged in improper workplace conduct toward 15 female employees, including touching them and making inappropriate comments, and that Sneed had committed two acts of domestic violence, including one against a co-worker. Cuban was made aware of the incident but did not fire him.
In addition, the report found that Chris Hyde, a longtime senior account executive, had made inappropriate comments toward women, viewed pornography on his workplace computer and made unsolicited sexual advances toward co-workers. Even after Cuban warned Hyde about looking at pornography at the office, Hyde’s inappropriate behavior continued for years.
“I messed up,” Cuban said in his interview with ESPN. “I should’ve just fired him on the spot.”
He added, “In hindsight, it was staring me right in the face and I missed it. I wasn’t as focused on the business as I should have been.”
After the allegations surfaced months ago, Cuban began to make changes — changes that may have helped him avoid a stiffer penalty from the league. The league acknowledged that the team already had taken steps to address some of the goals it set out in its report.
After terminating the contract of Buddy Pittman, the team’s human resources director, Cuban hired three women to work in high-profile positions: Cynthia Marshall as chief executive officer; Tarsha LaCour as senior vice president of human resources, and Cyndee Wales as chief ethics and compliance officer.