In the aftermath of their predatory-work-environment scandal in 2018, the Mavericks hired Cynthia Marshall as CEO. She quickly implemented a policy of “zero tolerance for any type of inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment or anything.”
Then, Dallas hired Jason Kidd as head coach last month.
In 2001, Kidd – while playing for the Suns – pleaded guilty to spousal abuse. His then-wife, Joumana Kidd, told police he hit her.
Via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News:Marshall assured The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday, she and Kidd last week had two “long, intense” conversations about what Marshall describes as his “journey” prior to his formal hiring by the Mavericks on Monday.
“I told him, ‘I know it’s uncomfortable, but it is what it is,’ ” Marshall recounted. “ ‘It’s part of the history of the Mavs, so I have to address it. And it’s part of my personal history.’
“There were multiple reasons we had to do this. By the time I hung up the phone, I didn’t find any reason not to hire him. None. And of course that’s not discounting anything that’s happened in the past. Domestic violence is horrible. I lived through it.”
Zero-tolerance policies are too often more about talking tough than actually improving conditions. Also, people should have room to earn redemption.
Has Kidd done that? I don’t know.
He and the Mavericks should explain themselves (taking the opposite course of the Trail Blazers with Chauncey Billups). That includes Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban answering difficult questions – not just having Marshall speak for the organization he runs.