Landon Buford
The news of Rob Murphy’s firing from the Detroit Pistons shocked the basketball world. Murphy had been a well-respected assistant general manager with a promising career ahead of him. But allegations of inappropriate conduct towards a former employee, DeJanai Raska, had surfaced, and the Pistons had no choice but to launch an investigation.
Raska’s accusations against Murphy were serious, including claims of harassment, abuse, and sexual assault. The Pistons hired an external law firm to conduct the investigation, which took several months to complete. The findings were damning enough to justify Murphy’s termination, and the assistant general manager was let go from his position.
However, Murphy’s attorney was quick to respond, stating that his client had passed a polygraph test and had fully cooperated with the Pistons’ investigation. He also shared an email from the Pistons’ general counsel, which stated that the investigation had concluded that there was no evidence of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation against Raska by Murphy or the Pistons organization.
Raska’s lawyer was undeterred by the Pistons’ findings and announced that his client intended to file a lawsuit against Murphy and the Pistons. He stated that Raska had been subjected to inappropriate conversations, verbal harassment, and sexual assault by Murphy, who had turned her into a “personal assistant nanny” for him and his teenage son. He also alleged that the Pistons’ human resources department had failed to protect Raska from Murphy’s behavior.
My client has maintained his silence and patience since the Pistons put him on administrative leave in October 2022. He passed a polygraph test administered by the President of Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners on November 16, 2022, and he fully cooperated with the Pistons’ investigation conducted by outside counsel,” shared Steven Porter.
The investigation concluded that the available evidence does not support a finding of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation by Rob or the Pistons organization against Ms. Raska.”
Potter concluded, “We believe that any attempts to try this case in the court of public opinion
are detrimental for all parties involved, and we will refrain from engaging in the same tactics.”
He added, “Subsequently, his legal team received an email from Pistons’ General Counsel on Feb 20, 2023, that confirmed the outcome of a month’s long investigation. Our request is that people withhold judgement about Mr. Murphy and these allegations until which time our case is presented in an appropriate setting. Mr. Murphy exhibits a deep trust in our judicial system and is desirous of having the opportunity to publicly refute the allegations made by Ms. Raska. We will be making no further comments at this time, but we will remain eager for the judicial process to unfold.”
