Terdema Ussery

Last updated

Terdema L. Ussery II
Born
Terdema Lamar Ussery II

(1958-12-04) December 4, 1958 (age 66)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education Princeton University (AB)
Harvard University (MPA)
UC Berkeley School of Law (JD)
Yale University (MAR)
Occupation(s)Business executive and attorney
Years active1987–present
Known forProfessional sports management
TitleFormer President & CEO of the Dallas Mavericks; Former Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association

Terdema Lamar Ussery II (born December 4, 1958 in Los Angeles) is an American business executive and attorney who has worked in professional sports, corporate governance, and community development. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2015. Before that, he was Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 to 1993 and President of Nike Sports Management from 1993 to 1997. Ussery chaired the Board of Commissioners of the Dallas Housing Authority from 2008 to 2014 and has served on the boards of other organizations, universities, and companies. In 2018, journalists and independent investigators reported evidence that Ussery had sexually harassed female employees during his tenure with the Mavericks; he denied the allegations. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Ussery was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in the Watts–Compton section of South Central Los Angeles. [3] [4] [5] His father owned and operated a small grocery store. [3] [4] His family experienced frequent violence in the neighborhood. [6] A school counselor helped him apply to The Thacher School in Ojai, California, including applying for financial aid, and he received a full scholarship. [4] [7] [6]

After graduating from Thacher, Ussery enrolled at Princeton University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1981 from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. [8] [9] Following Princeton, Ussery pursued graduate studies at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, earning a Master's degree in 1984. [3] He then continued to the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), receiving his Juris Doctor in 1987 and serving as an executive editor of the California Law Review . [9] Years later, he earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale University's Divinity School and subsequently joined its Board of Advisors. [10]

Career

After completing his Juris Doctor at Berkeley Law and clerkship at the Nevada Supreme Court, [7] Ussery joined the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster in 1987, focusing primarily on business and entertainment law. [3] During this period, he represented financial institutions including the Bank of America and the Industrial Bank of Japan. [8] [7] Ussery also worked on licensing agreements and contract negotiations for production companies and artists. [7] Ussery remained at Morrison & Foerster until 1990. His decision to leave was influenced by an invitation from then-CBA Commissioner Irv Kaze, whom he had met through the Constitutional Rights Foundation. [3]

Continental Basketball Association

Ussery entered the professional sports industry in 1990, joining the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel. [8] The CBA, founded in 1946 and often regarded as a minor league to the NBA, struggled with franchise instability, uneven revenue streams, and limited national media visibility. [3] [4] After about a year as Deputy Commissioner, Ussery was named Commissioner in April 1991. [4] Under his leadership, more than half the CBA franchises turned a profit by the 1992–93 season, and league-wide attendance increased. [3] [4] In an effort to raise the CBA's profile as a credible pathway to the NBA, he introduced structured programs focused on player education and counseling, offering college credit opportunities for players lacking degrees and expanded drug-counseling resources. [3] [4]

Nike Sports Management

After leaving the CBA in 1993, Ussery joined Nike Sports Management as president. [11] He oversaw contract negotiations with athletes. [11] Ussery remained at Nike Sports Management until 1997, when he left to become president and CEO of the Dallas Mavericks. [8] [9]

Dallas Mavericks

In 1997, Ussery joined the Dallas Mavericks as President and Chief Executive Officer, initially under owner Ross Perot Jr. and continuing after Mark Cuban purchased the franchise in 2000. [12] During his first season, Ussery led a campaign that secured $240 million in public funding for the construction of the American Airlines Center. [13] [14] In 2003 he was named Corporate Executive of the Year by Black Enterprise. [8] The organization developed extensive marketing campaigns and community programs, [15] and the team's game-night fan experience was recognized as being among the NBA's best during his tenure. [12] [7] Ussery also played a key role in bringing the 2010 NBA All-Star Game to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, an event that drew 108,713 spectators, a Guinness World Record for the largest basketball crowd. [12] [11] In 2012, he was inducted into the John McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame. [9] In 2014, he was shortlisted as one of three finalists for the Executive Director position at the National Basketball Players Association. [16] At the time of his resignation in 2015, the Mavericks had sold out all of their home games over the previous 11 seasons. [14]

Allegations of misconduct

Ussery was investigated by the Mavericks in 1998 for "improper behavior 'with multiple female employees'". [17] [18] [19] In February 2018, Sports Illustrated reported allegations from several former Mavericks and American Airlines Center employees that Ussery had sexually harassed them while he was CEO, along with allegations against other Mavericks employees. [1] [20] [21] Sports Illustrated also reported that Ussery had resigned from the company he went to after the Mavericks, Under Armour, after two months, after an employee complained about his inappropriate behavior. [1] [22] Ussery denied all of the allegations of misconduct. [1] [21] Team owner Mark Cuban said he had not been aware of improper behavior from Ussery or other employees; the Mavericks hired external lawyers to investigate the allegations. [23] [24] One of the women who alleged misconduct against Ussery also wrote about it publicly under her name and noted the related #MeToo movement. [25] The independent investigation found evidence to support nearly all of the allegations, including that Ussery had harassed at least 15 current and former employees during his 18 years with the team. [26] [27] [2] [28] [29]

Corporate and charitable governance

During his tenure as chair of the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) from 2008 to 2014, Ussery oversaw reforms intended to address financial mismanagement and restructure the agency's operations and governance. [5] According to D Magazine, DHA constructed over 1,200 affordable housing units during this period and updated its Housing Choice Voucher system, leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to recognize DHA for distinction four years in a row. [5] Ussery also supported educational initiatives by establishing a nonprofit that provided college scholarships and, under DHA's direction, allocating $12 million for on-site Head Start centers, serving approximately 600 pre-K children. [5]

Personal life

Ussery and his wife, Debra, have two children. [4] [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wertheim, Jon; Luther, Jessica (February 20, 2018). "Exclusive: Inside the Mavericks' corrosive workplace". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Cato, Tim (September 19, 2018). "Everything the Dallas Mavericks investigation revealed about workplace misconduct". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Downey, Mike (June 16, 1991). "A Quick Study in Success : After a Brilliant Academic Career, Watts' Terdema Ussery Becomes Head of the CBA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Whiteside, Kelly (May 3, 1993). "In a League of His Own: CBA Commissioner Terdema Ussery II Has Risen from the Back Streets to the Front Office". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Celeste, Eric (June 23, 2014). "How the Mavs' President Transformed Dallas Housing Authority". D Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Terdema Ussery, Dallas Mavericks and HD Net". CEO (Season 1, Episode 7). PBS. August 31, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brock, Katherine Cromer (July 4, 2010). "Dallas Mavericks CEO focused on his team, success". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Terdema Ussery, Dallas Mavericks and HDNet". KERA.org. KERA. August 31, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery to be Inducted into the John McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame". nacda.com. National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Yale Divinity School Bulletin, 2014–2015" (PDF). bulletin.yale.edu. Yale Divinity School. 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 Joseph Guinto (February 16, 2011). "He's Got Game: Dallas Mavericks' CEO Terdema Ussery". D Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Townsend, Brad (July 16, 2015). "President/CEO Terdema Ussery resigns after 18 years with Mavericks". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Dallas Mavericks CEO to speak to Real Estate Council". Dallas Morning News. January 19, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Tolbert, Michael (July 20, 2015). "Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery Leaves For Under Armour". Black Enterprise. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Entertainment Business: An Interview with Terdema L. Ussery II". Leaders Magazine. 2008. p. 128. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  16. ↑ Shelburne, Ramona; Stein, Marc (July 29, 2014). "Michele Roberts named NBPA chief". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  17. ↑ Townsend, Brad (February 21, 2018). "In 1998 the Mavericks investigated, yet retained, Terdema Ussery after alleged improper behavior 'with multiple female employees'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  18. ↑ Cowlishaw, Tim (February 21, 2018). "Cowlishaw in 1998 on Terdema Ussery allegations: These things have their way of leaking out into brightest of spotlights". Dallas News. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Report: Mavs end misconduct probe". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. August 4, 1998. p. 19. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  20. ↑ Rapaport, Daniel (February 21, 2018). "Who is Terdema Ussery? Former Mavs President Under Fire for Misconduct Allegations". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  21. 1 2 Hoffman, Benjamin (February 21, 2018). "Mavericks Begin Investigation After Misconduct Allegations". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ Davison, Drew (February 23, 2018). "Cuban, Mavericks 'on the legal hot seat' over sexual harassment claims". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ Sefko, Eddie (February 21, 2018). "Mark Cuban denies having knowledge of reported misogynistic behavior within Mavs, vows to get it fixed". Dallas News. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  24. ↑ Mosley, Matt (February 21, 2018). "Can Mark Cuban be trusted to clean up Mavericks' office misbehavior if it happened under his watch?". Dallas News. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  25. ↑ George, Brandon (March 21, 2018). "'I think Mark knew': Former Mavericks employee details organization's toxic workplace". Dallas News. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  26. ↑ McCann, Michael (September 19, 2018). "Assessing the Mavericks' Workplace Investigation and Placing the Penalties in Context". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  27. ↑ Goodman, Matt (September 19, 2018). "The Dallas Mavericks Report Largely Substantiates Harassment Allegations". D Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  28. ↑ Evans, Molly (September 19, 2018). "Investigation Into Dallas Mavericks Reveals Sexual Misconduct Over 20 Years". NPR. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Investigation details workplace misconduct within Dallas Mavericks organization". CBS News. September 20, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
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