The Detroit Pistons have fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy, the team confirmed to The Detroit News on Thursday morning.
Murphy’s firing comes after being placed on leave amid an external investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with a former employee.
“Rob Murphy no longer works for the Detroit Pistons or Motor City Cruise, in any capacity,” the Pistons said in a statement provided to The Detroit News. “Mr. Murphy was recently terminated for violation of company policy and the terms of his employment agreement. 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. Mr. Murphy was placed on leave immediately after the allegations were received and did not return to the workplace prior to his termination. Because this is a personnel matter, no further details will be forthcoming at this time.”
Murphy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
Attorney Megan Bonnani of Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers revealed to The News on Thursday that DeJanai Raska is the former female employee who served as Murphy’s executive assistant and she is filing a lawsuit against Murphy and the Pistons for abuse and harassment.
Bonnani said her client sat in front of the Pistons’ lawyers and provided documentation of Murphy’s harassment, which included verbal and physical advances.
The Pistons’ external investigation was completed in December but Murphy remained on paid leave until his dismissal, according to Bonnani.
“The fact that it took the notice that our lawsuit was going to be filed for them to finally take appropriate action is shameful,” Bonnani said. “It’s our feeling that as soon as he engaged in sexual misconduct, he should’ve been terminated and Ms. Raska should’ve been invited to return to the Pistons back to her rightful position.”
Murphy, a Detroit native, was promoted to assistant general manager of the Pistons and president of the Motor City Cruise last summer. He spent the previous 20 years as a college basketball coach, which included 10 years as the head coach at Eastern Michigan, until he joined the Pistons as a senior director of player personnel in 2021.
Murphy began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Kent State University and then spent seven years as an assistant coach under former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim from 2004-11.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news of Murphy being placed on leave by the Pistons on Oct. 20. Murphy had been on leave for approximately a week after management was made aware of the allegation.
When asked about Murphy’s status the following day, former Pistons coach Dwane Casey declined to comment and stated, “The front office and team attorneys will handle it.”
Pistons general manager Troy Weaver spoke publicly regarding Murphy’s status with the team for the first time during his end-of-the-season media availability on April 11. When asked if there was an update, Weaver kept it brief: “No, we’re still working through that process. That’s not in our hands right now, but, hopefully, we’ll have a resolution for that soon.”
Weaver has two open assistant general manager spots to fill this summer, after Murphy’s firing and the departure of Josh Bartelstein, who left the team in March to become the new CEO of the Phoenix Suns.
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