NBA commissioner Adam Silver apologized to Phoenix Suns employees for enduring owner Robert Sarver’s workplace misconduct, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
“I’m incredibly empathetic to what many of you have lived through,” Silver reportedly said.
Silver, who was in Phoenix for the Suns’ season-opening win against the Dallas Mavericks, spoke to hundreds of employees for nearly an hour and took responsibility on behalf of the NBA, Holmes reports.
“To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize. I take responsibility for that,” he said, according to Holmes.
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Silver came under heavy criticism for suspending Sarver one year and fining him $10 million after an investigation found that he had engaged in workplace misconduct — a punishment many, including NBA stars LeBron James and Chris Paul thought fell short.
On Sept. 21, barely a week after receiving his suspension, Sarver announced he would sell the team, calling it “the best course of action.”
“In our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible — that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past,” Sarver wrote in a statement. “For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.”
Silver said he “fully” supported Sarver’s decision.
“This is the right next step for the organization and community,” Silver said.
Assuming no other team is sold in the interim, it would be the first sale in the NBA since a group led by Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith bought the Utah Jazz in 2021 for about $1.7 billion.
It’s not known if Sarver has established an asking price. Forbes recently estimated the value of the Suns at $1.8 billion. Any new owners would have to be vetted by the NBA, which is standard procedure.
An independent report that was commissioned by the NBA last November — following an ESPN report into Sarver’s workplace conduct — took about 10 months to complete. That probe found Sarver “repeated or purported to repeat the N-word on at least five occasions spanning his tenure with the Suns,” though added that the investigation “makes no finding that Sarver used this racially insensitive language with the intent to demean or denigrate.”
The study also concluded that Sarver used demeaning language toward female employees, including telling a pregnant employee that she would not be able to do her job after becoming a mother; making off-colour comments and jokes about sex and anatomy; and yelling and cursing at employees in ways that would be considered bullying “under workplace standards.”
With files from The Associated Press
