DALLAS -- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Friday he has been "amazed" by the transformation on the business side of the organization since the February hiring of CEO Cynthia Marshall in the wake of a Sports Illustrated story exposing sexual harassment and misconduct within the franchise's corporate office.
Under Marshall's leadership, the Mavericks hired and promoted several women to executive positions, increasing the percentage filling those roles in the organization from zero to 47.
Marshall immediately devised a 100-day plan to transform the organization's culture and has vowed to make the Mavericks a model for pro sports franchises.
"It's just a completely different vibe over there," Carlisle said. "Things have changed so much -- the mood, the atmosphere, the environment, the optics and the people. It's been a great thing to see."
The Sports Illustrated story led to an independent investigation into the organization led by former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Evan Krutoy, an ex-prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The seven-month investigation, which included interviews with 215 current and former employees and the examination of 1.6 million documents, concluded that former CEO Terdema Ussery sexually harassed 15 female employees; former leading ticket salesman Chris Hyde had repeated instances of misconduct; and former team website writer Earl K. Sneed was retained despite two instances of domestic violence, the second against a co-worker who left the organization out of fear.
"I am in awe of the women who have worked in this organization over the past 20 years," Carlisle said. "I'm inspired by the victims who have had the courage to come forward [and] tell their stories to ensure an accurate investigation. My heart goes out to those victims that were affected and how difficult that situation was for them and will probably continue to be."
The investigation found no evidence that owner Mark Cuban had knowledge of Ussery's misconduct but stated that he made "serious errors in judgment" with decisions to retain Hyde and Sneed despite their disciplinary issues. Cuban agreed to make a $10 million donation to organizations committed to women's leadership and development in sports and combatting domestic violence.
"You try to see it positive," forward Dirk Nowitzki, the longtime face of the franchise, said. "You try to see that something good came out of all this. Like I said in February, you go through all the emotions of being disappointed and sad and mad that all this stuff was happening in your franchise. Now, with Mark making the donation and the investigation is over, we can move forward.
"I think we've changed the culture already in the front office with Cynt. She's going to be great for us for a long, long time. I think our job now is to focus on basketball and hopefully have a great year and let the front office people take care of what they need to do and hopefully have a great environment and an open door for everyone and make sure everyone can succeed at their job."