Dirk Nowitzki 'Disgusted' By SI Report on Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki, who has been with the Dallas Mavericks for nearly 20 full seasons, was “disgusted” to hear about the allegations of a hostile workplace within the organization, per Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

“It’s very disappointing. It’s heartbreaking,” the 39-year-old said, per Sefko. “I’m glad it’s all coming out. I was disgusted when I read the article, obviously, as everybody was. I was shocked … that our franchise, my franchise, that stuff like that was going on.”

Jon Wertheim and Jessica Luther of Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday there was an “open secret” of sexual harassment and more within the Mavericks office. More than a dozen former and current employees detailed various acts of misconduct from superiors.

Former team president and CEO Terdema Ussery was described as a known sexual harasser of female employees before he resigned in 2015, but he was not considered the only problem. Employees also said superiors were dismissive of complaints.

Despite the hostile environment in the office, the locker room was considered clean.

“I dealt with players all the time,” one female employee told Sports Illustrated. “I had hundreds of interactions with players and never once had an issue…they always knew how to treat people. Then I’d go to the office and it was this zoo, this complete s–tshow. My anxiety would go down dealing with players; it would go up when I got to my desk.”

While Nowitzki has been the face of the franchise for two decades, this makes it understandable for the allegations to come as a shock to him.

The Mavericks announced they have hired outside counsel to investigate the extent of this issue.

VIA Bleacher Report.