A former psychologist for the San Antonio Spurs is suing the team and their former player Josh Primo. She alleges that the team “ignored her repeated reports of indecent exposure” before he was released by the Spurs last week.
Dr Hillary Cauthen says Primo, a former first-round pick, exposed himself to her on nine occasions. She says the first incident, in December 2021, occurred during a psychological session and was reported to the team the following month.
The lawsuit, filed in Bexar county, Texas, alleges the Spurs failed to respond to Cauthen’s complaint. She is being represented by attorney Tony Buzbee, who handled the recent allegations of sexual assault against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“Rather than act on Dr Cauthen’s reports, the Spurs ignored her complaints, hoping the organization could ignore and then cover up Primo’s actions,” the lawsuit says. “The Spurs organization was willing to sacrifice Dr Cauthen to keep what they hoped would one day be a star player.
“Once Primo’s conduct entered the public sphere, the Spurs were forced to act and release Primo. The Spurs’ recent actions with regard to Primo are too little, too late. The Spurs’ public statement about Primo’s departure is a complete farce. The Spurs’ conduct sends a strong message that they, like other major sports organizations, are willing to tolerate abhorrent conduct on the part of athletes and sacrifice loyal employees, so long as the athlete is successful on the court.”
Buzbee says Primo was released by the Spurs days after exposing himself to another woman during the team’s trip to play the Minnesota Timberwolves. Buzbee alleges Primo also committed indecent exposure in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League in July 2022.
“Josh Primo’s conduct is well outside of the bounds of what is normal and acceptable,” Buzbee said on Thursday. “His conduct shocks the conscience. I would also say that the Spurs’ conduct, the way they handled this conduct, was egregious and absolutely unreasonable.”
Primo’s lawyer, William J Briggs, said the allegations are false.
“In an act of betrayal against her young client, Dr Cauthen, who is 40-years-old, falsely claims Josh Primo exposed himself to her during the course of her numerous therapy sessions,” Briggs said in a statement. “Dr Cauthen’s allegations are either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy. Josh Primo never intentionally exposed himself to her or anyone else and was not even aware that his private parts were visible outside of his workout shorts.
“What makes the allegations even less credible is that Dr Cauthen never informed her patient of the purported exposure. Dr Cauthen was Mr Primo’s mental health support provider and confidant; a therapist who Mr Primo trusted. She is much older than Mr Primo, with many years of experience as a sports psychologist. It is baffling why she did not bother to tell her patient that his private parts were visible underneath his shorts.”
Cauthen, who intends to file criminal charges against Primo, was hired by the Spurs in April 2021. She left the team after her contract was not renewed in August 2022. Buzbee says team management told her “to sit it out” after she registered her complaint and she was told to work from home. He claims the team also told his client that they had “lost trust in her”.
The 19-year-old Primo was waived by the Spurs last week, less than a month after the team picked up his third-year option, guaranteeing him a $4.3m salary next season.
After his release, Primo told ESPN that he was “seeking help to deal with previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully.”
