Earlier this month, it seemed like former NBA lottery pick Joshua Primo was in deep shit after allegations that the former Spurs guard exposed himself to a woman multiple times.
Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a former clinical psychologist for the Spurs, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 3 claiming that the Spurs organization ignored her reports that Primo exposed himself to her at least nine times throughout his tenure with the team during his therapy sessions. The first of those incidents allegedly occurred in Dec. 2021 and was reported in Jan. 2022.
Now, nearly two weeks later, Dr. Cauthen has agreed to settle the lawsuit against Primo and the Spurs. According to ESPN, Tony Buzbee, Cauthen’s attorney, said, “The parties have agreed to resolve this matter. The entire case is over and we have no further comment.”
In a statement on Thursday, Spurs CEO RC Buford said, “The situation regarding Josh Primo is a matter we take seriously. Since learning of the allegations, we have taken, and are taking, measures to ensure that all parties involved are treated with dignity and respect. We know we owe that to Dr. Cauthen, our players, our staff and our community.”
He continued, “As an organization, we are continuously evaluating and refining our processes so they ultimately reflect the values and culture of who we aspire to be every day. To that end, we have decided to collaborate with Dr. Cauthen and other experts in an effort to review and improve our workplace processes and procedures. This is a learning opportunity for us, and one that we are certain will make us better moving forward.”
Honestly, it was looking a little grim there for Primo, who was in the middle of his sophomore season with the Spurs before he was released. The fact that Cauthen hired attorney Tony Buzbee, the same man who represented multiple women in the sexual misconduct lawsuits against Deshaun Watson, indicated that this case was pretty damn serious. Now, because of the backlash the Cleveland Browns received for giving Watson that outlandish contract, will an NBA team take a chance on Joshua Primo? I doubt it. The Browns didn’t sign Watson because they thought he was innocent and deserved a second chance, they signed him because they thought he could help them win football games. Unfortunately, they didn’t give a damn about the women who were affected by his actions.
The problem for Primo is that he’s not nearly the level of athlete that Watson is and he still has these allegations against him that will stay with him forever. Primo has averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game in his short professional career. Not numbers that will blow you away.
So although he’s settled this lawsuit, the allegations against him will always hang over his head, and as a result, Primo will probably never play another minute in the NBA.