Dallas Mavericks player personnel director Tony Ronzone has been charged with sexual assault, according to Sports Illustrated.
Ronzone allegedly kissed, fingered, and made unwanted sexual advances towards a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room in July 2019. That woman, whom she refers to as “Sarah”, who is not her real name, detailed her Story to Sports Illustrated after The team was unable to take action against Ronzone.
The alleged incident occurred when Ronzone was in Las Vegas for the Summer League. Ronzone, who originally met Sarah a year earlier, reportedly invited Sarah to dinner with another co-worker. After having a drink after dinner at the Venetian’s bar, Ronzone told Sarah to go to her hotel room to collect the Mavericks tickets. Sarah, who runs a basketball-focused nonprofit, hoped the Mavericks would provide financial aid and a stamp of approval to their nonprofit.
Sarah said that she finally agreed to go to Ronzone’s room, where the alleged assault took place.
In the moments after the assault, Sarah contacted an acquaintance who works as a “safety consultant for an NBA team,” according to SI. Sarah detailed the incident to that acquaintance, who told Sarah to contact the police and file a report, but she declined to file a report with the police.
In the days following the alleged assault, Sarah and Ronzone continued to communicate by text message after Sarah believed she dropped her credit card and ID while in Ronzone’s room. Ronzone again asked Sarah to come to her room, and Sarah replied that she was not interested in “hooking up.” Sarah also joked about blackmailing Ronzone, a comment that Ronzone’s attorneys have used against her.
Mavericks promised to be better after 2018 accusations
In September 2019, Sarah wrote an email to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, detailing the encounter with Ronzone. Cuban sent the email to Cynthia Wales, who was hired as director of ethics and compliance to correct the Mavericks’ work culture after a 2018 Sports Illustrated report detailing multiple cases of sexual assault, harassment, and inappropriate behavior within the Mavericks organization.
After that report, Cuban apologized for not recognizing the issue and promised to do better in the future. The NBA fined Cubans $ 10 million. The league also made a series of recommendations to the Mavericks to improve the team’s culture. The NBA made those same recommendations to all teams.
Wales, who no longer works for the Mavericks, called Sarah to discuss the allegations. Sarah believed that Wales showed genuine interest in helping her initially, but was suspicious when Wales began to question her history.
Mavericks believes the allegations cannot be supported
Mavericks executive director Cynthia Marshall, who was also hired to change the team’s culture, asked the team to investigate the incident. The Mavericks found “no evidence presented of sexual assault,” according to Marshall. Ronzone remains an employee of the team.
Marshall told Sports Illustrated: “Based on the available evidence, based on what was presented to us, it was determined that there was not a sufficient basis to support the allegations.”
Sarah objected to that, saying the Mavericks have not seen five affidavits from people who will support her story. Lawyers on each side disagree on why those statements were not seen by the team. Sarah’s attorneys say the Mavericks would not sign an NDA. The team’s attorneys believe the conditions in the NDA were not acceptable.
Mavericks Problem Statement Condemning Sports Illustrated Report
The signed statements became an even bigger problem on Wednesday as the Mavericks released a statement condemning the Sports Illustrated report.
The Mavericks released a long-running statement Wednesday in response to a Sports Illustrated report detailing a new sexual assault charge against a central office executive, saying they are “appalled” that it is released without the team receiving the photo of “all evidence purged”. .twitter.com / hNkValMFhF
– Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 29, 2020
That statement alleges that the team was unaware of the statements until Sarah spoke to Sports Illustrated. The Mavericks believe that Sarah’s attorneys never intended to give the statements to the team unless the Mavericks were willing to discuss a deal. The team claims that Sarah continued to ask the Mavericks for large sums of money, which is mentioned in the Sports Illustrated report. Sarah reportedly told her lawyer that she did not mind making money.
The Mavericks then criticized the Sports Illustrated reports, claiming that the story was “incorrectly reported.” The Mavericks listed seven points, many of which, including the Mavericks that claim Sarah wanted money and changed her story, were mentioned in the Sports Illustrated article.
The Mavericks also said the internal investigation into the matter was “closed pending new evidence.” The team stated that it maintains its zero tolerance policy regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, and inappropriate behavior within the organization.
Later Wednesday, Sports Illustrated issued its own statement, backing up the reports in its story. The publication accused the Mavericks of “blaming the victims” and twisting the narrative.
