Portland Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey fired after toxic workplace report: NPR
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The Portland Trail Blazers have fired Neil Olshey as their general manager, the dismissal effective immediately. Olshey was investigated after workers accused him of creating a hostile work environment.
The Blazers said Olshey violated their code of conduct, in a brief statement the team released on Friday.
The NBA team did not provide details of Olshey’s misconduct, saying, “Out of respect for those who were candidly involved in that privileged investigation, we will not disclose or discuss it. about it.”
A month ago, the Blazers announced that they had hired the law firm O’Melveny & Myers to look into complaints about the work environment at a practice – allegations they said came from “people who are not must be the player.”
The employees described “a toxic, hostile work environment where employees were subjected to intimidation and profanity, among other bullying tactics,” Yahoo! Sport newspaper.
As news of the investigation spread, a number of people spoke out against Olshey, including a former assistant coach who said he tried to warn the Blazers not to put Olshey in the top spot. . Barry Hecker previously worked with Olshey on the Los Angeles Clippers franchise.
“One, I don’t think he’s qualified for the job,” Hecker said in an interview with Oregonian John Canzano. “Two, he doesn’t know how to treat people. He’s an arrogant SOB. His ego gets in the way and he’s just a terrible human being.”
Olshey, 56, was fired after starting his tenth season as general manager of the Blazers. In 2015, he was promoted to cum Director of Basketball Operations.
In another interview, former Trail Blazers guard Dan Dickau told Canzano that Olshey had assessed him for trying to find opportunities with the club’s operating unit.
At the time, Dickau was a fledgling coach who had recently retired and was hoping to work for the Blazers in player development or the team’s main office.
“Two days later, Neil Olshey called me and just tore me a new one,” Dickau said. “I mean, I don’t know how many f-bombs were dropped in that phone call.”
The question that came to mind after that phone call, Dickau said, was, “What’s going on here?”
As soon as the Olshey investigation was launched, Chris McGowan Announcement he resigned as president and chief executive officer of the Trail Blazers.