Sometimes, those who stand up for employees who are sexually harassed see negative repercussions too. A former NBA security official has sued the NBA, alleging that after he warned his supervisors of continued sexual harassment of female employees, he was retaliated against and fired.

The man says he was subjected to a hostile work environment and fired in July, after 10 years working as a security director with the NBA. According to his lawsuit, which is also against the league's former senior vice president for security, the man had a good performance record during most of his time with the NBA.

He says sexual harassment occurred on multiple occasions. For example, he says one senior official harassed a female employee and then publicly embarrassed her after she rejected him.

The security official says he had consistently positive performance reviews until 2007. According to the lawsuit, back in 2004 he had complained about another female employee's harassment the vice president called them false. After making a complaint about yet another employee's harassment, he says he was threatened and that his concerns were ignored.

He was apparently denied a promotion in 2006, and says he later received his lowest performance evaluation score on record. He says the situation ultimately turned into a hostile work environment.

He also testified in a sexual harassment case against the vice president that resulted in a settlement. The vice president ultimately resigned in October 2010.

According to the New York Times, the 50-year-old security official says that he has no regrets about making the complaints, adding, "I thought it was the right thing to do."

Source: New York Times, "Former NBA employee says sex harassment concerns were ignored," Howard Beck, Dec. 15, 2011