Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agreed to contribute $10 million to help further the cause of women in sports and raise awareness about domestic violence after an NBA investigation substantiated numerous incidents of sexual harassment and improper workplace conduct within the franchise going back more than 20 years. The NBA also announced Wednesday that it would require staffing, reporting, and policy changes for the Mavericks seven months after a Sports Illustrated report detailed years of examples of a hostile workplace for women on the business side of the operation. There were also allegations of sexual misconduct against former team President Terdemy Ussery. He worked for Cuban for 15 years and was investigated by the Mavericks over similar allegations in 1998, two years before Cuban bought the team. The league investigation determined Cuban wasn’t aware of Ussery’s actions. Soon after the SI report, Cuban hired former AT&T executive Cynthia Marshall as CEO. The NBA made note of that and other staffing changes the Mavericks had already implemented.
Minnesota’s Butler asks for trade
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler requested a trade, and his three preferred destinations are the Brooklyn Nets, LA Clippers, and New York Knicks, league sources told ESPN . . . ‘‘Black Panther’’ director Ryan Coogler will be joining LeBron James and the ‘‘Space Jam 2’’ team. James’s production company SpringHill Entertainment tweeted that Coogler will produce the sequel to the 1996 movie that featured Michael Jordan alongside Warner Bros.’s animated characters. ‘‘Random Acts of Flyness’’ creator Terence Nance will direct James, and Bugs Bunny, in the film.
Baseball
Kopech out for 2019 season
Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Tuesday and will miss the 2019 season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a torn elbow ligament Sept 8. He was acquired in the trade that sent ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox following the 2016 season . . . The New York Mets are shutting down righthander Zack Wheeler, ending a career-best year. Wheeler missed two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015. He was called up from Triple-A in April and went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts while throwing 182⅓ innings . . . Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu was released from a Cleveland hospital after undergoing treatment for an infection in his right thigh. White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Abreu won’t play in the series against the Indians . . . Texas Rangers reliever Matt Bush had surgery to repair a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament that will keep him out the first half of the 2019 season.
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Miscellany
Right hand still bothers Mariota
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was limited in practice because he is still suffering from weakness in his right hand along with numbness and tingling in two fingers . . . The Philadelphia Eagles signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews. Matthews signed with the Patriots in April but was released during training camp . . . Former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel will start for the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night at Winnipeg in the Canadian Football League. Manziel has not played since sustaining a concussion in his second start, on Aug. 11 . . . The ancient Irish sport of hurling returns to Fenway Park with a four-team tournament for the Coveted Players Champions Cup on Nov. 18 . . . Elmcrest Country Club’s Jack Kearney won the New England Senior Amateur Championship in Burlington, Vt., one stroke ahead of Rich Parker, the men’s golf coach at Dartmouth College . . . Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones should be eligible to fight by late October after completing a 15-month suspension for a second doping violation. Jones is widely considered the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world.
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