Attorney Tony Buzbee to discuss allegations made against Joshua Primo
Former team consulting psychologist Dr. Hillary Cauthen has alleged the ex-Spur exposed himself to her, and has hired Buzbee as representation. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday in Houston.
UPDATE: According to a report from AL.com, attorney Tony Buzbee will be discussing allegations made against Joshua Primo at a press conference in Houston on Thursday. Dr. Hillary Cauthen, who was hired by the Spurs organization as a consulting psychologist in September of last year, is one of the women alleging the former Spur exposed himself to her, and has hired Buzbee as representation.
On Saturday, Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the release of Primo stemmed from multiple alleged instances of the 19-year-old exposing himself to women. Later that evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported one of the women was a former Spurs employee, now known to be Cauthen.
San Antonio hired Cauthen in 2021 in accordance with an NBA rule that requires teams to employ at least one full-time licensed mental-health professional.
The San Antonio Express-News has further reported they’ve received a press release from The Buzbee Law Firm stating the following:
“At the conference, Tony Buzbee will discuss allegations made by Dr. Cauthen and others against NBA player Josh Primo, the events that precipitated the release of Primo, the veracity of recent public statements made by both the Spurs organization and Primo, interactions with individuals within the San Antonio Spurs organization, and the expected path forward. Dr. Cauthen will be present to make a public statement and answer pertinent questions.”
Last year, Buzbee represented 24 women in their sexual misconduct cases against then-Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Primo cleared waivers today and is now an unrestricted free agent. The Spurs still owe their former player $8.4 million, a contract that may be difficult to void unless Primo is found guilty of a crime. As of now, no criminal charges have been filed.
Over the past 72 hours, the Spurs have declined to comment on the situation. Irrespective of their reputation as a tight-lipped organization, this was always the right approach to take regarding a matter that was headed this direction.
Once Primo hit waivers on Friday, other teams predictably asked for more details about the promising young guard. As information started to disseminate between different teams in different markets as they looked into the situation, details inevitably leaked from organizations that don’t have a reason to protect the player or themselves from the circumstances. They wanted to know why San Antonio cut him, and when they found out, they told inquiring reporters in those markets what was going on. The Spurs had to keep quiet, however, regardless of their role in all of this.
But now, many of the questions regarding the timeline of events are sure to be answered.
When did the team find out? How was the information discovered? Was anyone else in the organization involved or aware of the alleged incidents prior to Primo’s release?
San Antonio has long been known as an exemplary franchise when it comes to issues of due diligence and morality, so those familiar with the organization would be justified in feeling confident individuals around the team responded in a timely and appropriate manner to any and all reports of sexual misconduct.
But in these moments, reputation largely takes a back seat to the truth at hand, and details discussed Thursday will give us an idea of whether or not the Spurs acted accordingly.
SAN ANTONIO — Initially, when the assembled media was told Gregg Popovich’s 5:45 p.m. pre-game media availability was going to be pushed to 6:15 p.m. on Friday, the only reason given was the coach was running behind. It was a little odd, though nothing to cause any sort of alarm. But as the clock ticked on past 6:20 p.m., the situation grew stranger by the second. Pop is not one to be more than a couple of minutes late to scheduled pressers on game nights, let alone five minutes past an already 30-minute delay.
Then, at 6:23 p.m., Spurs public relations announced via social media and email the team had waived Joshua Primo, the team’s 2021 first-round draft pick.
“It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua,” Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford said in a statement.
A normally stoic Popovich sat down at the dais about two minutes later, appearing relatively shellshocked. "Have you all gotten the statement we've made? That's all I choose to say about that right now,” he said when asked about the decision to waive Primo. “We are just going to stick with what we told you all."
The direct but puzzling news drop was as sudden as it was jarring. None of it seemed real. Josh Primo? Wait, are you sure??
Within the first 30 seconds of speaking with Primo, you could understand why San Antonio drafted him. He’s intelligent, cerebral, professional, hard-working and calm beyond his 19 years — someone we all viewed as the prototypical “Spursy” player, which made the events that unfolded Friday night all the more shocking.
Primo had been making noticeable strides both on and off the court and was looking very much like the future building block the Spurs had envisioned when they drafted him twelfth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. He was named a “brand ambassador” for Self Financial, an Austin-based credit-building financial tech company whose patch is emblazoned on San Antonio’s uniforms this season. He had taken over as the Spurs’ sixth man, flashing a promising amount of two-way potential as one of the team’s lead ball-handlers coming off the bench. Two weeks ago they picked up his option for the 2023-24 season, a no-brainer for a player who was going to be a significant piece of the team’s puzzle going forward.
On Friday night, the Spurs flatly waived him.
Further details have yet to emerge, but there is real concern over what might come next. The team is sticking to the statement made by Buford and has declined any further comment; coaches, players and executives are providing no additional information at this juncture; and sources I spoke to with knowledge of the situation would not share any more details as of this writing, but noted the sorrow of the moment and wished Primo well in the future.
San Antonio’s actions were swift and decisive, the hatches were battened all the way down, and the feeling there was more to the story was palpable.
During the second half of the Spurs’ 129-124 victory over the Chicago Bulls, Primo released a statement to ESPN:
“I know that you all are surprised by today's announcement. I've been seeking help to deal with previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully. I hope to be able to discuss these issues in the future so I can help others who have suffered in a similar way. I appreciate privacy at this time.”
For now, the Spurs are treating the proceedings with the utmost sensitivity and consideration for their former player, and whatever the circumstances surrounding his release might be.
The concern now moves to what triggered the team’s actions. While speculating too much over an issue that involves mental-health struggles can be problematic, signs indicate the impetus for Primo’s release was anything but favorable. Now, the Spurs must move toward a future without one of their most promising young players in the fold, as he moves on to face his own set of challenges.
Updates will be provided as more details emerge.