The Phoenix Suns were rocked by the NBA announcing its punishment for team owner Robert Sarver’s actions with his own employees from 2004 to 2022. The league has put out a report that says Sarver allegedly used the n-word in conversation and acted in a derogatory way towards Black and female employees.
The NBA has fined Sarver $10 million and suspended him for 1 year, but for many, this isn’t punishment enough. Given the last example of something like this happening came when the NBA banned Donald Sterling from the league and made him sell the LA Clippers, many assumed that the NBA would treat Sarver similarly. However, that hasn’t been the case, and Sarver will return to his position of power after one season.
Suns’ minority owner Jahm Najafi has finally spoken out about the issue, releasing a statement that asks for Sarver to resign from the team in light of the NBA’s report.
Phoenix Suns minority owner Jahm Najafi, who owns the second-largest stake in the team behind majority owner Robert Sarver, just released a statement.
In it, Najafi writes, in part:
"I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver."
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) September 16, 2022
Is Sarver Likely To Resign?
Considering the wave of negative press that Sarver has received in the last few days, it doesn’t look like he is willing to sell his team. He has fought to keep his team and won’t give it up right now.
However, it does become a challenge to run a team in the NBA when nobody else is being supportive. The members of the Suns’ organization won’t want to work for someone like Sarver, the other owners around the league aren’t fans of him, and he just represented the league in a very bad light.
Jahm Najafi is an Iranian-American businessman and already the Vice Chairman of the Suns. His asking for Sarver’s resignation is massive, as it’s the first outward show of a lack of support for what Sarver is trying to do. Whether Najafi can actually put enough pressure to get Robert Sarver out of the NBA is yet to be seen, but this is a good start for the camp of people that want him gone from the NBA.
