A former Detroit Pistons employee says a team executive Rob Murphy sexually harassed her over a period of months, preceding his firing as assistant general manager Wednesday.
DeJanai Raska when speaking to Detroit Free Press in a story released Thursday said Murphy performed many harassing acts after she started working as his executive assistant in September 2021, this includes: grabbing her buttocks, groping her in front of her 4-year-old daughter and saying he wanted to “put a baby in her”.
Raska also accused Murphy who was president then and general manager of the Pistons’ G League team of trying to force her into having sex.
She is suing the Pistons and Rob Murphy for sexual discrimination and harassment.
“Silence is not an option,” Raska told Free Press. “It’s not for me. It shouldn’t be for any woman. … This is my chance to voice the truth … and to take my power back.”
Murphy was let go from his position as assistant general manager Wednesday, with the Detroit Pistons telling the Free Press in a statement that he was fired “for violation of company policy and the terms of his employment agreement.”
“The facts that gave rise to his termination surfaced during a review, assisted by a national law firm, of allegations made by a former employee,” the Pistons said.
Murphy who declined to comment on the Free Press, was placed on leave in October at the beginning of the team’s investigation into the allegations. He had been the assistant GM after a promotion in the 2022 offseason.
Raska told the newspaper that she was scared of being fired if she brought forth her accusations. She mentioned losing her job in May 2022 when Rob Murphy sent a fake email to the team’s human relations department saying she had resigned.
She accused the Pistons of not taking any actions after she reported to the team attorneys what he did, which caused her to sue.
“We came forward before filing a lawsuit with the goal of having the Pistons do the right thing,” said attorney Megan Bonanni, one of Raska’s lawyers, adding, “The organization condoned and approved and were complicit in what he did. And they were hoping that Ms Raska would go away.”
Murphy has been the Pistons’ G League team president before he became general manager.
He was head coach at Eastern Michigan for a decade before joining the Pistons. Like Troy Weaver, Murphy too is a former assistant coach at Syracuse, amongst other positions within college ranks.
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