| Terdema L. Ussery II | |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1958 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | Princeton University (AB) Harvard University (MA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
Terdema Lamar Ussery II, born on December 4, 1958, is primarily known for sexual harassment committed over the course of multiple decades in his longtime role as an executive for the Dallas Mavericks. Ussery was the president and CEO of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks and used his position to harass female staff. Ussery has not been criminally charged for his harassment and remains employed: he currently holds the position of interim general counsel for Buena Vista Visions. However, the Mavericks conducted an extensive investigation in 2018 which corroborated a long list of accusations against Ussery. Ussery had left the Mavericks by the time of the investigation so could not be fired.[1]
He came to public attention due to sexual harassment he was at the centre of during his time as an executive for the Dallas Mavericks. Accusations against Ussery included comments that an employee was going to get "gang-banged", touching employees inappropriately at meetings and asking an employee to have sex with him "just one time".[2] [3] The Mavericks conducted an investigation in 2018 into Ussery's behaviour and also found that he kissed a female employee without consent and pulled up a different female employee's shirt as well before being interrupted by his secretary.[4] He was initially investigated by the Mavericks in 1998 for "improper behavior 'with multiple female employees'".[5] Sports Illustrated investigated the Mavericks in 2017 and found that more than a dozen current and ex-employees characterize the Mavs' hostile work environment—ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence—as an “open secret.” Ussery was found to be one of the central perpetrators of such an environment, as well as other key Mavericks employees Buddy Pittman, head of HR. Ussery left the Mavericks in 2014, prior to the investigation. Ussery worked for Under Armour for 3 months in 2015 after departing the Mavericks but resigned shortly after accusations of "sexually inappropriate conduct" towards an Under Armour employee were brought to the attention of Under Armour HR, according to Sports Illustrated.[2]
Ussery was born in Los Angeles[6] and grew up in the Watts–Compton section of South Central Los Angeles, California, and attended The Thacher School in Ojai, California. In 1981, he earned a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he was a football team walk-on. Ussery obtained a master's degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1984. His Juris Doctor degree is from UC Berkeley, where he served as an executive editor of the California Law Review.[7]
Ussery practiced business law at the international firm of Morrison and Foerster representing Bank of America and the Industrial Bank of Japan, among others. He moved to Denver to become the deputy commissioner and general counsel of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) on the invitation of then-commissioner Irv Kaze.
Ussery was appointed as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks in 1997, upon which he announced his goal to make his organization the best sports entertainment company in the country.[8]
In 2014, Ussery was among the finalist to replace Billy Hunter as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.[9]
Ussery holds positions in several charities and companies, including: