Basketball: New Zealand Breakers apologise to Sky Sport after contractor hands over 'porn' files on hard drive

Sky said the basketball club had apologised. Photo / File

The Breakers basketball club has apologised to a Sky Sport editor after a hard drive that was supposed to house footage for a documentary included "inappropriate content".

Late last year a Sky editor opened the drive and discovered what one worker described as "hundreds" of pornographic videos.

A worker, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said the images were discovered in a drive that held footage for a Breakers and Sky Sport documentary that was being filmed in Australia.

The drive was provided by a contractor working for the Breakers.

The five-part series, Unbreakable: 154 Days in Australia, documented the team's 2021 season which was impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

A spokesperson for Sky said the content was discovered in a folder alongside a large number of work files.

"Receiving that sort of content at work is clearly inappropriate and should not have happened, and we have provided our team member with support. They did not wish to take the matter further."

The spokesperson said they raised the matter with the Breakers, who had sincerely apologised for the mistake.

"The content was mistakenly included on the drive by an independent contractor, and there was no intention of it being sent to Sky. We have passed on the apology to our team member, and (as noted) they did not wish to take it further."

Breakers chief operating officer Lisa Edser said they were aware of the incident involving an "independent contractor" mistakenly giving Sky Sport employees a personal hard drive containing private content.

"We have apologised unreservedly to Sky and offered our support to them and their employees, and are investigating the matter further with the individual directly."

Last year Sky undertook a cultural review following Herald reporting which revealed allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and a "toxic culture".

A leaked email showed in total 64 people, including 11 contractors, were interviewed by an investigator for the review.