Former San Antonio Spurs psychologist Hillary Cauthen is suing the Spurs and 2021 team’s No. 12 draft pick Josh Primo over alleged incidents of indecent disclosure by Primo, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Bexar County, Texas emerges.
Cauthen will also file a criminal complaint against Primo for “multiple counts of indecent exposure,” her attorney Tony Buzbee said Thursday during a news conference in Houston.
“We expect them to be prosecuted,” Buzbee said.
Cauthen was signed by Spurs in September 2021. Primo showed up in front of Cauthen nine times, beginning in December 2021, according to the lawsuit.
“I am a clinical sports psychologist; I am a mother of four wonderful daughters. I’m a woman and I’m a victim,” Cauthen said Thursday.
According to the lawsuit, Cauthen first voiced her concerns about Primo’s behavior to Spurs GM Brian Wright in January 2022. Cauthen had her first meeting with Wright on March 21 and continued to voice her concerns about Primo, expressing to Wright that she was uncomfortable with Primo alone, the lawsuit states.
After meeting Wright, Cauthen claims she was still encouraged to visit Primo. Cauthen met with Wright again in April to express frustration and concern that no action had been taken, according to the lawsuit. Wright asked Cauthen “what consequence” she wanted to take, and Cauthen replied that she felt it was up to the team to address the situation, the lawsuit says. Wright then informed her that the organization’s legal department would be in touch with her.
According to the lawsuit, Cauthen met with lawyers for the Spurs organization multiple times in May, including the assistant general counsel as well as the chief legal officer and general counsel, and was promised an investigation. At this point, Cauthen was ordered to avoid contact with Primo and told that the team was preparing an “attribution.”
At least a week later, after contacting Cauthen for an update on the status of the investigation, Deputy General Counsel Brandon James and Chief Human Resources Officer Kara Allen informed Cauthen that Primo would continue to participate in team activities and suggested Cauthen to work from home.
In June, James and Allen announced they had spoken to Primo, the lawsuit states, and suggested starting a conversation with Primo to address his behavior. Cauthen declined.
At a meeting later in June, James and Allen informed Cauthen that the franchise was considering a “corrective process for timely incident reporting.” They also shared with Cauthen that head coach Gregg Popovich “was aware of her complaints and allegations and that he ‘wanted to agree with her.’ ”
Spurs, who could not be immediately reached for comment, dropped Primo last week. He had played four games this season and averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on 34.6 percent of shots from the field.
William J. Briggs, II, attorney for Primo, issued a statement Thursday defending the allegations against his client.
“Josh Primo is a 19-year-old NBA player who has suffered from trauma and challenges throughout his life,” said Briggs. “He is now being bullied by his former team-appointed sports psychologist, who plays on ugly stereotypes and racially charged fears for her own financial gain.”
The statement went on to dispute the allegations Primo had faced, calling them “a complete fabrication, a crude embellishment, or an utter fantasy.” Josh Primo never intentionally exposed himself to her or anyone else, and wasn’t even aware that his privates were showing outside of his training shorts.”
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Daniel Dunn / USA Today)