Pressure Mounting on Robert Sarver to Sell Suns

A black eye now rests on the Phoenix Suns.

So much of the talk has transitioned from what happened when the team last stepped on the court to an offseason full of drama, which featured co-stars Deandre Ayton and Kevin Durant.

Yet the nonstop negative spotlight was only brightened this past week when the NBA's investigation into team owner Robert Sarver concluded with punishments of a one year suspension and $10 million in total fines.

Sarver was found to, on at least five occasions, have said the N-word while also having numerous instances where he made inappropriate and sexual comments towards employees and players.

The $10 million in fines was the maximum amount allotted, but Sarver could have possibly been suspended for a longer amount of time.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at no time did he entertain the thought of forcing a sale of the Suns.

"While it's difficult to know what is in someone's heart or in their mind, we heard those words. … In the case of Robert Sarver, I'd say first of all we're looking at the totality of circumstances over an 18-year period in which he's owned these teams and ultimately we made a judgment. I made a judgment that in the circumstances in which he had used that language and that behavior, that while, as I said, it was indefensible, is not strong enough [to force a sale]"- Adam Silver

That's where the discrepancy comes in between Sarver and former Clippers owner Donald Sterling- the former was caught on tape. Sarver wasn't.

ESPN's Baxter Holmes, who first launched the initial report that sprung this investigation last November, offered this to say as rebuttal:

"He [Silver] referenced in respect to the situation with Donald Sterling, there being a tape and there not being one in this instance. Throughout my reporting process I would certainly hear from current staffers, former staffers, and they would say does all of this not matter if there's not a tape? Does the totality of all the allegations, witness accounts, the people who confirmed things and said 'oh this has been happening for years', does this not matter because there's not a tape?"- Baxter Holmes

We've seen current players such as Chris Paul and LeBron James speak out on Twitter:

I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 15, 2022

behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2022

PayPal threatened to pull their sponsorship with the team, and Suns vice chairman Jahm Najafi called for his resignation:

"I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege. Therefore, in accordance with my commitment to helping eradicate any form of racism, sexism and bias, as Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver," said Najafi (for his full statement read here).

The following is a snippet from The New York Times' piece on Sarver, which features words from the executive director of the NBA players’ union in Tamika Tremaglio.

“'Our players have, as you know, over the last several years, really been adamant about stating things that we thought were inequitable,'” Tremaglio said. “'Not only as it just relates to them specifically but as it relates to society as a whole. We did think it was critically important to say that we did not want Sarver to be in a position where he was managing people that impacted our players on a daily basis.”

"Tremaglio made the union’s position public in a statement on Twitter Wednesday night.

“'Mr. Sarver’s reported actions and conduct are horrible and have no place in our sport or any workplace for that matter,'” she said.

"She added: “'I have made my position known to Adam Silver regarding my thoughts on the extent of the punishment, and strongly believe that Mr. Sarver should never hold a managerial position within our league again.'”

Even Phoenix's mayor, Kate Gallego, released a statement encouraging city staff to report any similar actions seen in the report.

Statement from Mayor Gallego and members of the Phoenix City Council: pic.twitter.com/zV5GaJpQWv
— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) September 15, 2022

Plenty of public pressure has been applied to Sarver, but will he end up selling?

"The NBA’s independent investigation confirmed that none of Mr. Sarver’s actions or comments were based on racist, prejudiced, or misogynistic intent," said Sarver's representatives in a statement.

"These findings came after hundreds of witness interviews and the review of thousands of documents—including eighteen years of Mr. Sarver’s emails and personal text messages. The League also confirmed that there was no evidence, whatsoever, to support several of the accusations in ESPN’s reporting from November 2021. Finally, the NBA recognized that the Suns organization started improving its HR department and workplace culture long before the NBA’s investigation began."

As of now, it appears Sarver is content with taking the punishment and resuming duties after his suspension ends.

"There was no discussion around the process of removing him," Silver said. "There was a discussion around this case … The discussions -- Robert Sarver and I spoke several times along the way, and I allowed the investigation to unfold. We didn't prejudge it."

Perhaps the NBA is fine with that, too. Yet public pressure continues to mount towards Sarver and his current role with the Suns.

We'll see which side emerges victorious.

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