There has been an ongoing NBA investigation for over a little over 10 months regarding Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury owner Robert Sarver for allegations of racism and misogyny during his 17 years as owner of the Suns.
The NBA had finally made a decision after substantial evidence has emerged detailing Sarver’s actions.
Sarver has been suspended for one year and fined $10 million by the NBA after finding some pretty disturbing information regarding how Sarver treated some of his employees while running the Suns.
The investigation found that during his time with the Suns and Mercury, Sarver used the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others.”
On top of this, it was reported that Sarver had “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” the NBA said in its statement, including “sex-related comments” and inappropriate comments on employees’ appearances.
The NBA today issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/jjlBK771PT
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 13, 2022
One very interesting thing in this statement by the NBA is that while they found instances of “racially insensitive language” and “sex-related comments towards women” committed by Sarver, the NBA ultimately concluded that there was “no finding” that Sarver’s workplace misconduct was motivated by race or gender, which seems ridiculous for the NBA to say.
Considering the shocking number of things that he was found guilty of doing, many around the NBA world were surprised and upset that Sarver wasn’t met with a much harsher punishment.
The statements says they made no finding that Sarver's misconduct was motivated by "gender-based animus."
But also say Sarver engaged in "instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees"
That's a very narrow definition of animus https://t.co/iNYF2QOTId
— Jake Madison (@NOLAJake) September 13, 2022
This is an unsatisfying result of the investigation for many. The NBA is basically saying "Robert Sarver is a crappy owner and a crappy boss but not bad enough to force a sale." https://t.co/xZrxAxmOt5
— Jody Oehler (@radiojody) September 13, 2022
This is an epic failure from Adam Silver and any other #NBA owner that signed off on this conclusion. Each. Of. You. Are. Complicit. Silver is entering Roger Goodell standing. https://t.co/wV5uFk9Hch
— 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 🎙 (@kennysargent) September 13, 2022
— Kyle T. Mosley (@ktmoze) September 13, 2022
the mental gymnastics at the bottom of the first page of this statement are astounding lol https://t.co/LzlURvylVB
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) September 13, 2022
Many also took the opportunity to compare this situation to former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was banned from the NBA for his racist actions while owner.
Given the findings, I fail to understand how his antics differed from Donald Sterling.
Sarver clearly felt very comfortable displaying blatant racism – which triggered a force of sale.
Sarver is getting off easy here. https://t.co/CWCZFYv2az
— Morten Stig Jensen (@msjnba) September 13, 2022
As tough as it was to do, Robert Sarver's racism, misogyny and more is as worse as Donald Sterling's and very well may surpass it. How does the Suns owner get a pass to return to his throne after a year suspension and not pushed out the NBA like Sterling? Confused by this result.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 13, 2022
Eager to see how Chris Paul responds to the Sarver news. We know how outspoken he was about Donald Sterling when he was with the Clippers. How will he and the rest of that roster respond to this?
In my opinion, Adam Silver is going to have to force a sell. Server has to go.
— Bonta Hill (@BontaHill) September 13, 2022
It will certainly be interesting to see how the NBA responds to this news regarding Sarver. When it came to Donald Sterling, he was put into a situation where his players boycotted his role with the organization, and was practically forced to sell the team.
While that may not happen since Sterling was banned from the NBA instead of just suspended, it certainly appears that the Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner got off very light following these disgusting acts committed over a 17-year timeframe.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.