NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Defends 1-Year Suspension for Owner’s Misconduct
Asked why he did not go as far with Sarver, Silver called Donald Sterling’s and Sarver’s situations “dramatically different.”
A suspension and a fine. The N.B.A. suspended Robert Sarver, the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, for one year and fined him $10 million after an investigation determined that he had engaged in misconduct towards his employees. Here is what to know:
How it began. Sarver, 60, led the ownership group that purchased the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury in 2004 for $401 million. He has developed a reputation as an involved owner unafraid to draw attention to himself with showy stunts, such as dunking off a trampoline during halftime.
Sarver’s response. After word of ESPN’s investigation into Sarver went public, the Suns pre-emptively released statements denying that Sarver had a history of racism or sexism. Sarver, in statements to ESPN, denied most of the accusations in the article.
N.B.A. investigation. Following the publication of the article, the league began looking into the accusations of mistreatment against Sarver, retaining the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Katz to conduct an independent investigation.
“What we saw in the case of Donald Sterling was blatant racist conduct directed at a select group of people,” Silver said.
When it came to Sarver, Silver said, the “totality of circumstances over an 18-year period in which he’s owned these teams” didn’t warrant the same punishment.
“It’s beyond the pale in every possible way to use language and behave that way,” Silver said of Sarver’s behavior. But he added: “Remember, while there were these terrible things, there were also many, many people who had very positive things to say about him through this process.”
Despite detailing several instances in which Sarver made women and Black people feel demeaned, the investigators said they did not find that Sarver’s actions were motivated by “racial or gender-based animus.”
Silver paused when asked if he agreed with that assessment.
“I accept their work,” Silver said. “To follow what we believe is appropriate process here, to bring in a law firm, to have them spend essentially nine months on this, to do the extensive kinds of interviews they can, I’m not able to put myself in their shoes. I respect the work they’ve done, we’ve done.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/sports/basketball/adam-silver-nba-robert-sarver-suns.html