NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been under fire in recent hours after the sanctions against Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver were revealed. Many believe the league should have been harder on Sarver given all the bad things that he said and allowed to happen within the Phoenix Suns organization over the past 18 years.
NBA stars didn’t hesitate to call out the league for their decision, including LeBron James, who was really harsh on the sanctions, and Chris Paul, a current member of the Phoenix Suns.
Added to these stars, many others have shown their unhappiness with the league’s decision, with some claiming that Sarver should have been forced to sell the Suns after everything was discovered. Well, while a lot of fans think that way, it’s hard for the league to make this decision and they could resort to a different solution.
John Hollinger Says The NBA Can’t Kick Robert Sarver Out Just Like That
John Hollinger of The Athletic has heard all the noise around the league and decided to explain why the league banned Sarver for one year and what this year means for the front office, the Suns and the rest of the association. The senior writer states that it won’t be enough if the league just tries to kick out Sarver. They need more actors to take action and put pressure on the controversial owner.
Once we recall that Sterling wasn’t “kicked out” in quite the way people remember, the parallels with the Sarver case become more apparent. The commissioner can’t eject Sarver with the push of a button like he’s Dr. Evil, but public opinion can make it impossible for Sarver to continue. In a roundabout way, Silver’s disastrous news conference may ultimately help him reach that endgame more quickly and easily.
Unfortunately, it will likely be up to sponsors, minority owners, the media and even the players to do the league office’s dirty work from here, especially given the absence of smoking-gun audio. But it’s still easy to imagine how conditions could make a Sarver return impossible. What advertiser is going to associate its brand with Sarver’s Suns 12 months from now? How many fans will think twice about buying tickets? What about the players?
While Silver’s news conference was a disaster, he — unlike Sarver — still has a chance at genuine redemption. He’ll have to work behind the scenes to get this reputational stain off the league’s liability sheet by impressing on Sarver the impossibility of his continuing and canvasing for money guys to be ready with a big check when Sarver inevitably gets canceled.
This is a complex situation for the NBA, but it seems like they’re thinking long-term instead of making a quick decision that could backfire later. It’s obvious that a lot of people are unhappy with Sarver’s behavior, but they need to raise their voices and make it clear that nobody wants him around anymore. They’ll need a collective effort to put pressure on Sarver and force him to go, but time will tell how long it takes for that to happen.
