Tag: Donnie Nelson

The Dallas Mavericks responded Friday to a wrongful termination suit by Donnie Nelson, accusing the former longtime general manager of a “lengthy scheme to extort as much as $100 million” and saying the lawsuit was preceded by demands that he receive “in effect, a blackmail payment” in exchange for his promise not to expose the sexual orientation of owner Mark Cuban’s chief of staff or make other claims to embarrass the team.

The official court response was to Nelson’s claim that Cuban fired him last summer as retaliation for reporting that Cuban’s “right-hand man” Jason Lutin had sexually harassed and sexually assaulted Nelson’s nephew during a 2020 job interview. Nelson’s lawsuit said his nephew, who was not identified, was invited to Lutin’s hotel room during the 2020 All-Star Weekend in Chicago and subsequently reached a settlement with the team. Nelson said he found out about the alleged incident and settlement only months later, while he was starting contract negotiations with Cuban, but that the talks stalled and eventually ended after he pressed the issue about Lutin. Cuban fired Nelson in June 2021.

Cuban on Thursday denied Nelson’s allegations, saying, “Everything in that filing is a lie.” Lutin also denied the allegations as a “complete lie.”

Nelson, in his lawsuit filed in Dallas County court, says that Jason Lutin, described in the lawsuit as Cuban’s “right-hand man” and who still works for the team, assaulted and harassed his nephew in a hotel room during the 2020 All-Star Weekend in Chicago. The nephew, a man in his 20s who is not identified in the lawsuit, had been invited by Lutin to his hotel room, the lawsuit says.

Cuban denied Nelson’s allegations in an email to ESPN. “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 the allegations in an email to ESPN and said, “What this man [Nelson] is doing to someone like me is absolutely unspeakable.” “It’s a complete lie and I defer to Mavs to comment and who have already dealt with this matter,” Lutin said. “And obviously have a lot of information to show none of that ever happened.” Nelson did not find out about the alleged Feb. 16, 2020, incident involving Lutin, or a subsequent settlement for an undisclosed amount that his nephew quietly reached with the team, until five months later, after he and Cuban had begun discussions to extend his contract for 10 years, the lawsuit says. At that point, Nelson confronted Cuban and said Lutin’s alleged activities were “putting the Mavericks’ employees, players and the entire organization at risk,” according to the lawsuit.