Swordsmyth
02-22-2018, 09:30 PM
Mark Cuban on Wednesday took full responsibility for the decision to continue employing a writer for the Dallas Mavericks’ website for multiple years after two separate cases of domestic violence. The Mavericks owner acknowledged that while he didn’t know the full details of Earl K. Sneed’s incidents, he knew enough that he shouldn’t have made “a horrible mistake” by keeping him on staff.
“I want to be clear, I’m not putting the blame on anybody else,” Cuban told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22531647/dallas-mavericks-owner-mark-cuban-says-blame-keeping-former-employee). “It came down to my final decision that I made.”
In their Sports Illustrated investigation (https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/20/dallas-mavericks-sexual-misconduct-investigation-mark-cuban-response) into a Dallas “corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior,” journalists Jessica Luther and L. Jon Wertheim reported that Sneed, a full-time beat writer for the Mavericks’ website since the 2010-11 season, was “involved in a domestic dispute with a girlfriend” midway through his first season on the job. They cited a police report that claimed Sneed “sat on top of her and slapped her on the face and chest,” and told her, “I’m going to [bleeping] kick your ass. Today is gonna be the worst day of your life,” before leaving the scene prior to police arriving.
The woman reportedly suffered a fractured right wrist and bruises on her arms and chest. Sneed was arrested at the Mavericks’ facility two months later and charged with assault. He’d later plead guilty to a pair of less serious misdemeanor charges that were dismissed after he paid a $750 fine, completed supervised community service, and enrolled in an anger management program.
Two years later, Sneed once again allegedly became involved in a domestic violence incident. SI reported that during a 2014 dispute between Sneed and a female Mavericks colleague he’d been dating, “Sneed turned violent, hitting the woman.” She later reported the incident to Buddy Pittman, the Mavericks’ head of human resources, whom she said told her about Sneed’s prior arrest … which made her wonder why he still had a job with the team.
Sneed retained his job until Tuesday, when, in an attempt to get ahead of (https://sports.yahoo.com/fired-mavericks-employee-signed-contract-prohibiting-1-1-contact-female-employees-alleged-assault-164757022.html) the coming SI story, the Mavericks released a statement (https://www.mavs.com/statement-from-dallas-mavericks-on-sports-illustrated-article/) saying that an employee who had “misled the organization about a prior domestic violence incident and “was not candid about the situation” had been fired. That employee was Sneed.
More at: https://sports.yahoo.com/horrible-mistake-mark-cuban-knew-ex-mavs-writers-domestic-violence-incidents-212435125.html
“I want to be clear, I’m not putting the blame on anybody else,” Cuban told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22531647/dallas-mavericks-owner-mark-cuban-says-blame-keeping-former-employee). “It came down to my final decision that I made.”
In their Sports Illustrated investigation (https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/20/dallas-mavericks-sexual-misconduct-investigation-mark-cuban-response) into a Dallas “corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior,” journalists Jessica Luther and L. Jon Wertheim reported that Sneed, a full-time beat writer for the Mavericks’ website since the 2010-11 season, was “involved in a domestic dispute with a girlfriend” midway through his first season on the job. They cited a police report that claimed Sneed “sat on top of her and slapped her on the face and chest,” and told her, “I’m going to [bleeping] kick your ass. Today is gonna be the worst day of your life,” before leaving the scene prior to police arriving.
The woman reportedly suffered a fractured right wrist and bruises on her arms and chest. Sneed was arrested at the Mavericks’ facility two months later and charged with assault. He’d later plead guilty to a pair of less serious misdemeanor charges that were dismissed after he paid a $750 fine, completed supervised community service, and enrolled in an anger management program.
Two years later, Sneed once again allegedly became involved in a domestic violence incident. SI reported that during a 2014 dispute between Sneed and a female Mavericks colleague he’d been dating, “Sneed turned violent, hitting the woman.” She later reported the incident to Buddy Pittman, the Mavericks’ head of human resources, whom she said told her about Sneed’s prior arrest … which made her wonder why he still had a job with the team.
Sneed retained his job until Tuesday, when, in an attempt to get ahead of (https://sports.yahoo.com/fired-mavericks-employee-signed-contract-prohibiting-1-1-contact-female-employees-alleged-assault-164757022.html) the coming SI story, the Mavericks released a statement (https://www.mavs.com/statement-from-dallas-mavericks-on-sports-illustrated-article/) saying that an employee who had “misled the organization about a prior domestic violence incident and “was not candid about the situation” had been fired. That employee was Sneed.
More at: https://sports.yahoo.com/horrible-mistake-mark-cuban-knew-ex-mavs-writers-domestic-violence-incidents-212435125.html