NBA Under Pressure to Remove Phoenix Suns Owner Robert Sarver
Dan Schulman, PayPal’s president and chief executive, said in a statement that Sarver’s conduct was “unacceptable and in conflict with our values.”
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.
According to the investigation report by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Katz, Sarver engaged in misconduct over his 18 years with the team, including saying “the N-word at least five times,” demeaning and bullying employees, and commenting that women cry too much after berating a female employee in front of others.
Silver could have suspended Sarver for longer than one year, but $10 million was the maximum monetary penalty allowed for an owner.
Najafi, in his open letter, said: “Similar conduct by any C.E.O., executive director, president, teacher, coach, or any other position of leadership would warrant immediate termination. The fact that Robert Sarver ‘owns’ the team does not give him a license to treat others differently than any other leader.”
Najafi seemed to be alluding to a comment by Silver at a news conference Wednesday in response to a question about why Sarver should be held to a different standard than any other employee or executive.
“There’s no neat answer here, other than owning property, the rights that come with owning an N.B.A. team, how that’s set up within our constitution, what it would take to remove that team from his control is a very involved process, and it’s different than holding a job,” Silver said. “It just is, when you actually own a team.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/sports/basketball/nba-robert-sarver-suns-adam-silver.html