NEW YORK (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he didn’t suspend Mark Cuban because the Mavericks owner was never directly implicated in the misconduct toward women within his organization.
Silver acknowledged Friday that Cuban should have been more aware of what was going on, but felt a suspension wasn’t warranted being that Cuban wasn’t accused of anything by any of the more than 200 people interviewed in a report into the team’s workplace that was released this week.
Silver also cited Cuban’s response to the original “Sports Illustrated” report detailing years of examples of a hostile workplace for women on the business side of the team, and the organization’s cooperation with investigators afterward in choosing not to hand down further punishment.
Cuban agreed to contribute $10 million to help further the cause of women in sports and raise awareness about domestic violence. Silver could have only fined him $2.5 million under NBA rules.