Detroit Pistons Fire Assistant GM After 6 Month Investigation Into Female Staffer’s Misconduct Claim

There’s drama within the Detroit Pistons family. Detroit Free Press reports the NBA team has fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy, six months after he was placed on leave after a workplace misconduct allegation from former employee DeJanai Raska.

The team launched an investigation and concluded that Murphy, 50, violated “company policy and the terms of his employment agreement.” “Rob Murphy no longer works for the Detroit Pistons or Motor City Cruise, in any capacity,” according to a statement. “The facts that gave rise to his termination surfaced during a review, assisted by a national law firm, of allegations made by a former employee.”

Raska broke her silence and told Detroit Free Press her story. She claims that Murphy sexually harassed her for months while she worked as his executive assistant. She said he groped her private parts in front of her 4-year-old daughter, grabbed her behind multiple times, and subjected her to unwanted kissing. She also said he would often tell her she aroused him and that he wanted to “put a baby in her.”

Things turned for the worse when he tried to force her to have sex, but she managed to push him off of her as he held her down on a bed. The former Pistons employee feared for her job safety if she told but reminded herself that her mental stability meant more. “Silence is not an option,” Raska said. “It’s not for me. It shouldn’t be for any woman … This is my chance to voice the truth … and to take my power back.”

TMZ reports the team couldn’t provide further details about the investigation because it was a “personnel matter” and had no choice but to part ways with the 50-year-old former manager.

Murphy wasn’t new to the management side of the franchise after being promoted to the position during the last off-season in June 2022. He spent his time previously as the president of the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. After just one season, he was promoted to the Pistons’senior director of Player Personnel.