Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban Denies 2011 Sexual Assault Allegations

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was reportedly investigated in 2011 by Portland, Oregon, police after a woman claimed the billionaire sexually assaulted her at a bar in the downtown part of the city. However, Cuban was not charged because of insufficient evidence, according to a report published in Willamette Week on Tuesday.

According to a police report obtained by the Willamette Week, the woman, currently in her 30s, told investigators she spotted Cuban at the bar in April 2011 and posed for a picture with him on the advice of a friend. The woman alleged Cuban stuck his hand down the back of her jeans and penetrated her with his fingers while they posed for a picture.

Cuban was never charged with a crime after the incident as the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office determined there was insufficient evidence to press charges against the Mavericks owner.

He denied the allegations as the report surfaced Tuesday night.

“It didn’t happen,” Cuban wrote in an email to the Associated Press. The report came two weeks after Sports Illustrated provided details about years of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations within the Dallas Mavericks’ organization in a report.

The alleged assault took place two months before the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat to win their first NBA title.

According to the Willamette Week, the woman said she never sought publicity or attempted to seek compensation from Cuban. However, she was adamant the billionaire assaulted her.

"I filed the report because what he did was wrong," she told the paper. "I stand behind that report 1,000 percent."

On the day of the incident, the woman said she arrived with her boyfriend and a friend at around 11:30 p.m. EST at the bar and left around 2 a.m., shortly after her boyfriend suggested she try to take a picture with Cuban, who was standing by himself. The unnamed woman's friend later told police the Mavericks owner appeared "very drunk."

Cuban reportedly agreed to pose for a photo, initially placing his right hand on her lower back.

"He then moved his hand down until it was on her buttocks," according to an investigator’s summary of the alleged victim's statement, cited by the Willamette Week. "Cuban then pushed his hand down the back of her jeans and inside her underwear where he cupped his hand over her groin area and inserted the tip of his finger into her vagina."

The woman submitted seven photos taken with Cuban on the night of the incident, two of which police deemed "significant." Both images reportedly showed Cuban's right shoulder lowered, "and he appears to be stretching to reach his arm down."

In one of the two photos, police also noted the woman's facial expression.

"Her teeth are clenched, eyes wider than the other pictures and brow raised showing a look of surprise and strain," the police report read, according to the Willamette Week.

When contacted by police at that time, Cuban was adamant no sexual assault took place then. He also provided the names of two people, who had been with him at the bar as witnesses: All-Star forward Kevin Love and reporter Lindsay McCormick.

Cuban later hired Stephen Houze, a local criminal defense lawyer, who reiterated the billionaire’s denial of the alleged assault.