Phoenix Suns’ governor Robert Sarver has been in the news lately. He has been suspended for one year and fined $10 million from the NBA based on a league investigation due to his workplace conduct.
There is no doubt that this suspension is well deserved. It was reported that Sarver used racial slurs in the workplace and also made some inappropriate remarks toward women.
“NBA has suspended Suns owner Robert Sarver for one year from the Suns and Mercury organization based on league investigation. Sarver has also been fined $10 million and complete training program focused on respect and appropriate workplace conduct.
“Key findings, NBA says: Robert Sarver said the N-word at least 5 times when recounting statement of others; made sex-related, inappropriate comments about physical appearance of females; inappropriate physical conduct toward men; engaged in harsh treatment.
“The independent investigation included interviews with 320 people and evaluation of over 80,000 documents.
This is clearly not acceptable conduct for anyone, let alone an NBA team’s governor. Hopefully, we see some improvements in the workplace environments at the Suns and Mercury offices in the future.
LeBron James Doesn’t Agree With The NBA’s Decision On Robert Sarver
There is no doubt that many are upset with the way the NBA handled this situation. Some, like Matt Barnes, suggested that he should have been kicked out of the NBA for his conduct.
It seems as though LeBron James is the latest person to state his displeasure with the way the NBA dealt with this issue. He stated that the NBA “got this wrong”, and added that “there’s no place” for the type of behavior Sarver exhibited in the NBA.
behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2022
Read through the Sarver stories a few times now. I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. I don’t need to explain why. Y’all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I’m gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.
It remains to be seen what other players end up speaking out about this issue. It is clear that there is some disappointment around the league about the relatively light consequences that Robert Sarver faced, with a Suns employee even claiming that “the league doesn’t stand for diversity”.
Hopefully, we see the league do a better job of handling issues such as these going forward. There is no place for racism and sexism in the league, and that sort of behavior should have heavy consequences.
