One of the players that the San Antonio Spurs have projected as a pillar of their reconstruction in the NBA has been, for two weeks, an unemployed person who, for now, nobody wants to hire. Because Joshua cousin He is also, right now, the prime defendant in a criminal case for repeated indecent exposures that could end up hitting the franchise that took him to the planet’s leading basketball league and fired him due to this situation.
The Spurs’ decision to terminate the 19-year-old Canadian shooting guard’s contract on October 27, nine days after the start of the season and two weeks after the player’s contract extension, came as a surprise. “We hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interests of both the organization and Joshua,” said succinctly RC Buford, CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, an entity that controls and manages the Spurs franchises in a .city statement in several disciplines, among them, the one that participates in the NBA.
Cousin tried that day to allay the impact of the news and, in a statement sent to the ESPN network, explained that his dismissal was a consequence of psychological problems that prevented him from continuing to play. “I have sought help in dealing with a trauma I have suffered and will now use this time to focus more on my mental health treatment. I hope to be able to talk about these issues in the future so that I can help other people who have suffered in a similar way. ”And she asked for privacy.
This was far from happening, as just hours later several US media outlets began echoing the first allegations of several women against the basketball player for showing himself naked in front of them without their consent. Finally, on November 3, Hillary Cauthen, a psychologist who had worked for the Spurs and who had treated Primo, filed a lawsuit against the player for “repeated indecent exposure” and also against the franchise for not acting in that situation.
In the court filing, filed with the 45th District Court of Bexar County (San Antonio), it is stated that Primo performed nine times during the sessions treatment developed since December 2021. The complaint shows that Cauthen, who had worked in the organization since September 2021, first warned Spurs director general Brian Wright of the shooting guard’s conduct in January 2022 and became aware of it. again on March 21, when she met him. On that occasion, he told him that she felt uncomfortable working alone with the player.
According to Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the actor, his client met in the following months with Wright as well as Spurs’ general counsel Brandon James and HR chief Kara Allen.
In July, Cauthen was not invited to accompany the team to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.. According to the lawsuit, the franchise said it believes she “he was unable to do his job professionally due to lack of trust with the team“. Finally, the psychologist was released in late August when her contract expired.
“I am a victim, but I am not alone in fighting to do what is right. The correct thing is to say, ‘No, this is not right‘. The organization I worked for disappointed me. I spoke, asked for help, and provided options. My voice and my feelings have been silenced, “Cauthen denounced last week at a press conference in which she was visibly moved.”It took Spurs 10 months to do the right thing. It’s too long“, He added.
Even more difficult was the professional’s attorney. “Instead of acting on Dr. Cauthen’s reports, the Spurs ignored his complaints and covered up Primo’s actions. They were willing to sacrifice her to keep the man they hoped she would become a star in the future. Once Primo’s conduct emerged in the public sphere, they were forced to act and part with him, “Buzbee said.
This isn’t the first high-profile case of its kind involving The lawyer: She was the representative of a group of 24 women who last year sued Deshaun Watson for sexual harassment and assaultwho at the time worked as Houston quarterback Texans of the National Football League. The player, who now belongs to the Cleveland Browns, has avoided a criminal conviction for those acts and is now serving an 11-game ban that will expire in December.
At the crossroads of Cauthen’s accusations came William Briggs, Primo’s lawyer, who tried to present his client as a victim and the professional as his executioner. “Josh Primo lived a life of trauma and challenge. Now he is being haunted by his he appointed sports psychologist who plays on ugly stereotypes and racist fears for his own financial gain. “
Briggs called the psychologist’s accusations “an act of betrayal of her young client” and as “a complete invention, an absolute fantasy”. And he stated that if her client showed her genitals during therapy sessions, it was simply an unfortunate consequence of the clothes she was wearing: “Josh Primo never intentionally exposed himself to her or anyone else. I didn’t even know her intimate parts of her were visible outside of her training shorts. “
Cauthen’s lawsuit also targets the San Antonio Spurs for their lack of responses to these situations. Once the pro’s presentation was made, the Texan franchise avoided a clear statement on the matter. Through a brief statement, RC Buford said it was necessary to wait for “the development of the legal process”, although he pointed out that the organization had found inaccuracies in the “facts, details and chronology” exposed by his former employee.
The complaint filed with Bexar reported that the San Antonio Spurs management had told Cauthen that the team’s manager, Gregg Popovich, “was aware of your complaint and allegations and that he wanted to do the right thing for her.” In any case, when asked about it, the psychologist said she did not know if she was really like that.
Popovich preferred not to give details on the case, even though he made an institutional defense of the franchise in which he worked for more than a quarter of a century. “Anyone who has watched Spurs for a long time knows that an accusation like this would be taken very seriously, no doubt. I am absolutely certain that the senior staff who took care of this did so efficiently, promptly and with the utmost attention to all those involved “.
Popovich’s statements do not seem to fit the Spurs’ behaviorthat without previous indications and without subsequent explanations he got rid of a player who was considered one of the main cards he was betting on in the long process of reconstruction that they are carrying out after the farewell of their sacred cows: Tim Duncan, Emanuel Ginóbili and Tony Parker .
After playing in high school for a year at Huntington St. Joseph Prep, West Virginia, and another year at the Royal Crown Academic School in Scarborough, Ontario, and representing Canada at the 2019 U19 World Cup in Greece, Primo began his career at the University of Alabama in 2020. But there is only one season left, as San Antonio chose him in 12th place in the 2021 Draft.
On October 20, 2021, in the Spurs’ 123-97 victory over the Orlando Magic, Primo played his first game in the NBA at the age of 18 and 300 days (Born December 24, 2002 in Toronto). He thus becomes the youngest player in the history of the league to make his debut after passing university. That night, he was on the pitch for 5 minutes and scored a triple.
In his first season, during which he was the youngest player in the NBA, he played 50 games and averaged 19.3 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds. He also played 12 G League games with the Austin Spurs (a San Antonio affiliate team). In those engagements he added 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 30.7 minutes.
In mid-October, a few days before the start of the regular season, the Texan franchise took advantage of the option of the third year of the contract (2023/24) with a salary of 4.3 million dollars, a slight improvement compared to the 4 , 1 million agreed for the current campaign. But after four games, in which he averaged 23.3 minutes, 7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds, San Antonio cut the tie. Primo is now a free agent and can sign with any team. Although he also has to solve his legal problems.
Source: Clarin
