MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson abruptly resigned Tuesday and the team said he had fallen short of meeting its "high standards of conduct" amid reports he had acted improperly toward women.

The Timberwolves announced Brunson's resignation in a one-sentence release and later sent a statement about the 45-year-old former NBA player.

The Star Tribune, citing a source it did not identify, reported Brunson had been the subject of complaints of improper conduct toward women. The Athletic also reported that he was accused of improper conduct toward women while on the job. The Timberwolves did not return phone calls seeking additional comment and the NBA did not respond to a message.

In 2014, Brunson was arrested in suburban Chicago and charged with sexually assaulting a massage therapist. He was acquitted of all counts in that case, saying he had an ongoing extramarital affair with the woman.

The Timberwolves hired Brunson in 2016, and last season was his fourth working under coach Tom Thibodeau, who helped the team reach the NBA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Brunson had previous assistant coaching jobs with the Denver Nuggets, Charlotte and Chicago, where he worked under Thibodeau.

Brunson played in the NBA for nine years, including stops in New York and Houston. He made it to the playoffs in five of his nine seasons, and was a member of the 1999 Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks, who lost to San Antonio in the finals.

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