For well over a year, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver seemed to be living a life in limbo when it came to his NBA team.
While they thrived on the floor, making it to the NBA Finals in 2021 and having the best regular season record this past year, he was laying low while the league investigated claims of a toxic work environment.
The league came down on Sarver hard Thursday, fining him $10 million and suspending him for an entire season.
According to the NBA, Sarver believed he said the N-word at least five times “when recounting statements of others.”
The league also convicted him of being guilty of “Instances of inequitable conduct towards female employees.
Reports said Sarver cooperated with the entire investigation but did not accept he deserved such a severe punishment.
He did own up to crass behavior in a statement he released Tuesday.
“I accept the consequences of the NBA’s decision. 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.”
It was an incredibly lengthy and thorough investigation. Over 320 employees and Sarver were interviewed, and the league sifted through over 80,000 documents.
According to the NBA’s findings, the investigation revealed that during Sarver’s tenure, he “engaged in demeaning and harsh treatment of employees, including by yelling and cursing at them.”
On top of that, the league said he “engaged in instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees, made many sex-related comments in the workplace, made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women, and on several occasions engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees.”
Sarver has owned the Suns for 17 years.
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