Attorney: Josh Primo accuser set to discuss allegations
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
A psychologist who has worked with the San Antonio Spurs will speak out this week regarding allegations she and others have made against former Spurs guard Joshua Primo, the woman’s attorney said Monday.
Attorney Tony Buzbee said in a press release that his client, psychologist Hillary Cauthen, will speak at a news conference in Houston on Thursday. Cauthen, who has served as a performance psychologist for the team, will make a statement and answer questions, according to the release.
The 19-year-old Primo was waived by the Spurs on Friday, just four games into his second NBA season. A person with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday that the Spurs let him go after a former employee made allegations that Primo exposed himself in her presence.
That same day, Buzbee confirmed that he had been retained by a “former Spurs contractor,” and on Monday, her identity was revealed in the release from the attorney.
On Friday, Primo released a statement to ESPN saying that he has “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.”
The Spurs offered no reason why they waived Primo, other than a statement from team CEO R.C. Buford saying the club hopes “that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua.”
The Spurs took Primo with the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NBA draft after he spent one year of college at Alabama. Primo averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his rookie season with the Spurs, and 7.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in four games with the Spurs this season.
The team recently picked up his third-year option, a largely procedural move that locked in a $4.3 million salary for next season and showed that he was expected to remain in the Spurs’ plans. He was making $4.1 million this season.
Had he been claimed by another team before Monday, that team would have been responsible for the $8.4 million Primo is owed. He cleared waivers Monday and is a free agent.
Buzbee is the attorney who represented 24 women who sued Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, then of the Houston Texans, accusing him of sexual assault or harassment. Watson is serving an 11-game suspension from the NFL.
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