Detroit Pistons Executive Repeatedly Harassed Female Employee

On Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons announced that they fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy. Last October, the Pistons placed Murphy on leave while they investigated a formal complaint of sexual harassment. And now, in the wake of his firing, more details have emerged about the actions that prompted it.

Citing an interview published at the Detroit Free Press, ESPN reports that Murphy repeatedly sexually harassed DeJanai Raska, his executive assistant. According to Raska, Murphy’s actions included saying that he wanted to “put a baby in her” and groping Raska while her preschool-age daughter was present. She also accused Murphy of sending the team’s human resources department an email stating that she had resigned her job in May of last year when she had done no such thing — which led to the loss of her job.

Raska told the Free Press that, “Silence is not an option. It’s not for me. It shouldn’t be for any woman.” She is presently suing the Pistons.

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Prior to his time at Detroit, Murphy had coached at Eastern Michigan University for 10 years. He left that job in 2021 to work for the Pistons. In a statement to the Free Press, the Pistons cited “allegations made by a former employee” as the reason for their investigation of Murphy.