Report: Josh Primo’s release from the Spurs stemmed from inappropriate behavior toward women

Just over 24 hours after former 12th overall pick Josh Primo’s shocking release from the Spurs before their game against the Chicago Bulls, more information is starting to come out about the situation. Many questions were left unanswered after the Spurs refused to comment further, and Primo’s statement citing mental health as his reason for leaving just didn’t add up considering the team and league have systems in place to help with such issues without waiving players.

Now more information is coming to light, and if true, the situation keeps getting sadder. On Saturday, Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the reasoning behind the Spurs’ decision to waive Primo:

The San Antonio Spurs’ release of guard Joshua Primo — the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NBA draft — stemmed from multiple alleged instances of him exposing himself to women, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

The decision to release Primo on Friday night was sudden and shocking, and it spoke to the severity of the issues surrounding the promising 19-year old player.

No other details were given, such as when these incidents occurred, how the Spurs found out, or if any charges have been filed against him, but it’s still shocking, nonetheless. The fact that they just picked up his team option a few weeks ago, he had been receiving plenty of praise, and played as recently as Monday indicates they can’t have known for long, but it’s clear once they learned the extent of situation, it was bad enough that it was a point of no return.

We will continue to report as more details come out, but all of this is extremely sad for every party involved.

Update: It is now being reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic that a former Spurs employee is one of Primo’s accusers: