Dirk Nowitzki, the face of a franchise that has embarrassed him, spoke out Wednesday about allegations of sexual harassment in the Mavericks workplace.
A 20-year NBA veteran, all with a Mavs organization he considers a second family, said after practice in Los Angeles that he's happy Sports Illustrated's story broke, alleging improper office behavior by former team president Terdema Ussery and at least one other former Mavs employee.
"It's tough," Nowitzki said (via The Dallas Morning News). "It's very disappointing. It's heartbreaking. I'm glad it's all coming out. I was disgusted when I read the article, obviously, as everybody was.
"I was shocked by some of the stuff. Just really really disappointed that in our franchise — my franchise — that stuff like that was going on. It's just very sad."
With about a dozen local and national reporters around him, Nowitzki continued: "But I think (owner) Mark (Cuban) is trying to step up and lead this franchise in the right direction. Hiring investigators, finding out all the little details that we have to know as a franchise of what really was going on. I think Mark is going to step up and find answers.
"And we as a franchise, we feel bad for the victims and for what happened to some of these ladies — like I said, truly, truly disgusting. Our thoughts and prayers are definitely with these victims."
Meanwhile, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle addressed the allegations as much as a father as the franchise's head coach.
"I'm grateful we live in a place and time where people have the courage to speak up about things like this," he said. "I also have a 13-year-old daughter, and I want her to know that it's both brave and safe to speak out. And that's very important to me, and it should be important to everybody.
"When it comes to anything involving the Mavericks, Mark Cuban is a strong believer in extreme ownership, extreme accountability. And he's highly motivated to get this resolved in an expeditious but thorough manner. No steps will be skipped.
"Things happen for a reason. Any problem or crisis presents an opportunity and this is an opportunity for us to get something fixed."
