Magic Johnson is strongly refuting an ESPN report that he bullied Lakers staffers during his time as an exec with the organization -- saying, "it never happened."
Just hours after ESPN published the bombshell report, Magic appeared on SportsCenter to address it, explaining that if the allegations were true, he would've been called into Jeanie Buss' office to deal with the incidents.
"Do you think Jeanie Buss would allow me to abuse the employees?" Magic said. "If that was the case, she would've called me in."
Instead, Johnson says he was never informed about such issues and believes the allegations in the report are not based in reality.
"It never happened. ... I never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."
Magic Johnson addressed the abuse allegations of Lakers' employees. pic.twitter.com/plzAXMjs9U
"I'm a person who brings everybody together, uplifting employees. I never abused an employee and I never will. That's not what I'm about."
As we previously reported, the ESPN article cites multiple unnamed Lakers staffers who claim Magic would berate employees and essentially created a hostile work environment
After the report was published, we spoke with Dodgers star Justin Turner, who says he never had any such experience working for Magic, who is a co-owner of the MLB team.