As stunning stories of sexual misconduct and abuse of power rippled through politics and Hollywood during the past year — with the powerful #metoo movement gaining steam with each exposed transgression — I had more than a few conversations with people wondering how sports had managed to largely avoid the wave.

So many of these stories of awful and often illegal behavior, after all, were tied up in money and power — and sports has plenty of both.

It seemed like only a matter of when, not if, athletes and powerful executives would start to experience a comeuppance. A trickle could turn into a stream soon, with a Sports Illustrated piece about the toxic culture within the corporate offices of the Dallas Mavericks being the latest example.

In an investigation, SI found, among other things, a "corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior" with plenty of blame to go around.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.