Robert Sarver, owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has been suspended by the NBA for 1 year and fined $10M after an investigation concluded that he had engaged in “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies”.
While Sarver made a point of saying that he disagreed with several of the report’s findings, ultimately he conceded that he will “accept the consequences of the league’s decision” and apologized for “words and actions that offended our employees.”
Sarver, 60, had been under investigation by a 3rd party law firm (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz) for close to a year as they delved into allegations of racism and misogyny within the Suns & Mercury organizations. In the end, the report indicated that the Tucson, AZ native had “repeated or purported to repeat the N-word on at least five occasions spanning his tenure with the Suns,” though the investigation also noted that it “makes no finding that Sarver used this racially insensitive language with the intent to demean or denigrate.”
The investigation also substantiated claims that Sarver had used demeaning language toward female employees, yelled and cursed at employees, and made inappropriate jokes about sex in the workplace.
“I take full responsibility for what I have done,” Sarver said. “I am sorry for causing this pain, and these errors in judgment are not consistent with my personal philosophy or my values. … This moment is an opportunity for me to demonstrate a capacity to learn and grow as we continue to build a working culture where every employee feels comfortable and valued.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver conceded that the 1 year suspension could have been longer, however he “didn’t have the right to take away his team.” While Silver was quick to point out that Sarver was “on notice” in terms of his future workplace conduct, he also told reporters that there weren’t many additional details he could provide as a result of a non-disclosure agreement surrounding the investigation.
A five member committee including two black men and two women, came to the conclusion that Sarver’s use of slurs was not motivated “by racial or gender-based animus.”
That finding would prove crucial in the decision to dole out a 1 year suspension as opposed to a lifetime ban as was the case in April of 2014 with then Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
In addition to the suspension, Sarver will be forced to pay a $10M fine which Silver announced would be donated to “to organizations that are committed to addressing race and gender-based issues in and outside the workplace.”
$10M is the maximum fine currently allowed by NBA rules. The Suns and Mercury have yet to release any official statements on the matter.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Mwinog2777. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.