The Detroit Pistons fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy following a seven-month suspension and investigation into workplace misconduct with a female former employee, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.
The team confirmed Murphy’s termination for violation of company policy and the terms of his employment agreement on Wednesday — a day before his accuser DeJanai “DJay” Raska filed a lawsuit against the Pistons and 50-year-old Murphy.
Raska — a 32-year-old mother and Murphy’s former executive assistant — filed the sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit Thursday, alleging she was abused, harassed and assaulted by Murphy.
Raska told the Detroit Free Press that Murphy, who she trusted as a mentor, used his job to make her his “sexual target” – alleging he groped her private parts in front of her 4-year-old daughter.
Raska alleged that Murphy sexually harassed her for months behind closed doors while she worked as his executive assistant, claiming he grabbed her buttocks multiple times, subjected her to unwanted kissing, often told her she aroused him and said he wanted to “put a baby in her.”
Raska also alleged Murphy tried to force her to have sex, but she managed to push him off of her as he held her down on a bed.
“It felt like I had a dangerous secret,” Raska told the outlet, adding that she stayed silent for 16 months. “I felt like if the wrong person found out, I could be fired.”
Raska also told the Free Press she lost her job in May 2022 when Murphy sent a fake email claiming she had resigned to the Pistons’ human resources department.
Raska said she lived with fear and anxiety for months, until she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Silence is not an option,” Raska said. “It’s not for me. It shouldn’t be for any woman … This is my chance to voice the truth … and to take my power back.”
Murphy’s firing came after the Pistons placed him on leave in Oct. 2022, following an investigation into an allegation that he engaged in workplace misconduct with a female former employee.
“Rob Murphy no longer works for the Detroit Pistons or Motor City Cruise, in any capacity,” the team said in a statement. “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.”
After the allegations were made, Murphy “did not return to the workplace prior to his termination,” according to the team.
The Pistons added that “because this is a personnel matter, no further details will be forthcoming at this time.”
Murphy — a Detroit native and beloved hometown figure in sports — was promoted to assistant general manager last offseason after spending the 2021-22 season as the president of the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.
Prior to the pros, Murphy was the head coach at Eastern Michigan for 10 seasons, from 2011-21.
He previously served as an assistant coach at Kent State and Syracuse.
Murphy also was an associate coach at Detroit Crockett and Central High Schools in the 1990s.