New Dallas Morning News story sheds more light on Mavericks toxic workplace

Chris Hyde, a former senior account executive in sales for the Dallas Mavericks, regularly watched porn at his desk, showed co-workers lewd pictures on his phone and even touched himself inappropriately at his desk, various sources told The Dallas Morning News in a new report about the Mavericks toxic workplace environment that dropped on Sunday.

According to the report, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was aware of the behavior and Hyde continued even after a warning from Cuban. Hyde was eventually fired in 2014, after six years of the inappropriate conduct.

The initial story of a former Mavs employee watching porn at work was originally part of Sports Illustrated’s report back in February. It was just a small detail in a larger story and this DMN story goes into more detail on who this employee was and what his former coworkers had to deal with for six years.

The stories are fairly gross and disturbing. The entire story should be read, but some of the excerpts are tough:

Three former employees with firsthand knowledge of Hyde’s behavior told The News that he showed them pornography on his computer or cellphone multiple times, from as far back as the early 2000s until just before he left the franchise in 2014.

In early 2008, Hyde told a former employee whom he had worked with for more than a decade that Cuban had warned Hyde he’d be fired if he continued to possess erotic photos on his office computer. Hyde also told the former co-worker that he had apologized to Cuban and promised there would be no further incidents.

For several months, according to the former employee, Hyde seemed to heed Cuban’s warning. But Hyde -- now 57 -- eventually returned to his earlier behavior.

One former employee explained the “Pants DJ” nickname as “like what a DJ does on a turntable because it looks like he’s kind of rubbing his leg.”

The story reports Hyde was one of the Mavericks top earners in ticket sales, which some former employees say is the reason he was kept around despite the behavior. Those former employees say Hyde was also responsible for the incident where a used condom was discovered in the office, which was reported back at the end of March.

Three former employees said they spotted a used condom on the office floor shortly after Hyde walked out of a bathroom near the front of the Mavs’ sales office after lunch in early 2011. One of the employees said he had seen the condom fall from Hyde’s pants leg as he was walking.

Two of the co-workers said they had witnessed Buddy Pittman, the Mavericks vice president of human resources, pick up the used condom with a paper towel before disposing of it.

Cuban was alerted about the condom incident, two sources said, but Hyde kept his job for three more years.

Cuban didn’t respond to this new report, instead directing questions to the Mavericks’ new CEO Cynthia Marshall.

“As I mentioned in the February 26th press conference, we will respond swiftly to the investigators’ findings,” Marshall told The News. “They are conducting a thorough investigation and we are anxiously awaiting their report. In the meantime, we are executing on our 100-day plan and ensuring that the Dallas Mavericks is a great place to work for all.”

It’s been fairly quiet on this front since the Deadspin report at the end of March. The independent investigation brought on by the Mavericks has been in progress since February. Marshall told The News that investigation could wrap up by the end of this month.

Here’s the key bit on that front, however (emphasis mine):

“It’s been incredibly thorough,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the investigation at a board of governors meeting in mid-April in New York. “It includes interviewing every single employee of the Mavericks organization, plus every former employee who is willing to make themselves available to the investigators.

”From everything I’ve heard directly from the investigators, everyone has been completely cooperative,” he said. “And by the way, it doesn’t just include interviews. It includes documents, it includes emails.

”And that’s come directly from Mark Cuban. He’s told the investigators that and he’s told the league office that as well, that he is open book, and he’s demanding himself a thorough investigation. So we’re waiting for the outcome of that.”

None of the former employees interviewed by The News have spoken to the investigators hired by the Mavericks, but all have expressed a willingness to cooperate.

Again, be sure to read the full story on the entire situation regarding Hyde’s behavior.