Former Detroit Pistons employee files lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, assault / News - Basketnews.com

Lawsuit claims Detroit Pistons tolerated sexually hostile workplace, leading to employee's departure.

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A former employee of the Detroit Pistons has filed a federal lawsuit against the team and a former assistant general manager, alleging sexual harassment and physical assault during her time with the organization, according to a report by the Detroit News.

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The civil rights lawsuit, filed by attorneys from the law firm Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers on behalf of DeJanai Raska, claims that she was subjected to assault and battery around November 2021.

The defendants in the case are the Detroit Pistons Organization and Robert Murphy, the team's former assistant general manager.

Raska, who worked as Murphy's executive assistant from September 2021 to June 2023, is seeking punitive damages for emotional suffering resulting from the alleged sexual harassment and assault.

The lawsuit contends that the organization allowed a "sexually hostile workplace," ultimately leading to Raska's departure.

The legal action accuses Murphy of falsely stating to the human resources department that Raska had resigned, while he had, in fact, sacked her.

Although initially placed on administrative leave in October 2022, Murphy was officially fired almost seven months later on May 4, citing violations of company policy and employment agreement terms.

The lawsuit claims that the Pistons failed to address the issue promptly, alleging that the organization enabled sexual harassment by not taking action against Murphy prior to the notice of intent to sue in May.

Raska's experience is characterized in the lawsuit as a sadly common story of the ongoing challenges faced by women in professional athletic organizations to provide a safe workplace. The suit details allegations of persistent harassment by Murphy, including sexual comments, flaunting of sexual proclivities, and inappropriate physical contact.

"Ms. Raska endured unrelenting harassment by Murphy, ranging from sexual comments about her body, to flaunting of his alleged sexual proclivity and past conquests, to pointing at his erect penis and telling Raska that 'she did this to him,'" the suit said.

"Murphy groped and grabbed her buttocks and breasts, declaring 'this is gonna be all mine,' and announced he wanted to put a baby inside of her. On one occasion, Murphy forced himself on top of Ms. Raska, held her down, and when she tried to pull away, he told her, 'You need to get out of your head. You think too much,'" according to the lawsuit.

Murphy, a Detroit native, had been promoted to assistant general manager of the Pistons and president of the Motor City Cruise in March 2021.

Previously, he had a 20-year career as a college basketball coach, including a ten-year stint as the head coach at Eastern Michigan, before joining the Pistons in 2021 as a senior director of player personnel.

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