Allegations of racism and misogyny within the Phoenix Suns: Inside Robert Sarver's 17-year tenure as owner

[LazarusLong]

ESPN trying to have a social conscience. It's a like a sad little garden lizard pretending to be a brontosaurus ...

[Superbone]

Sarver out. It’s gross and disgusting and I think people shouldn’t accept this kind of behavior or culture. Any professional would be fired for this kind of behavior, simply because he is an owner doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

Yeah, it makes me sad as a Suns fan that we have this rich, entitled asshole running the show. Of course, I don't have a problem with him being rich but I've always said that wealth magnifies a person's true self. Sarver is a raging asshole. But it's out of our control and this article isn't likely to change anything. Sarver needs psychological help but he doesn't know it and won't seek treatment. The first step is recognizing you have a problem.

[Suns_Dave]

Read the whole thing. Absent any hard evidence (like a recording of his conversations with Earl Watson), there’s just nothing here to remove him over. It would be nice to fire an owner simply for being toxic, but sadly the world doesn’t work that way.

The only actionable thing in here that is not denied by Sarver is the pantsing incident. That crosses the line from sexual harassment over into actual sexual assault The guy will likely end up getting a personal apology and maybe even a little money, but Sarver’s not leaving unless he voluntarily steps down.

[Oatmeal]

Sarver is poop, please sell your stake.

[Indy]

70 witnesses is a lot. I realize they are not public about, but they clearly are real people that worked in the org and spoke to ESPN about their experience. It isn't like the Suns have 50,000 employees. Seventy is a big percentage.

[Drewsprocket]

Sarver out. It’s gross and disgusting and I think people shouldn’t accept this kind of behavior or culture. Any professional would be fired for this kind of behavior, simply because he is an owner doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

agreed on most of that, except that he is out. billionaires in this country get away with this all the time, and I think he will too. Cuban did.

I’m not making a prediction that he will be out, rather that he should. I think somewhere in this equation is that we accept that he won’t be out. It just goes up the chain that “well, he’s a billionaire (or whatever).”

[virtual9mm]

I am not sure about a lot of this. It is clear that this is a hatchet job by Earl Watson to rehabilitate his reputation. Sarver being a first class jerk doesn't help and depantsing is really bad bullying but to call it sexual harassment is going too far.

So much of this is simply Sarver having poor judgment and we knew this. The guy's a first class jerk. But the truly damning stuff is mostly just hearsay and I bet that most of it was made up by Rich Paul.

If I were Sarver, I would sue ESPN.

[Drewsprocket]

Wow. This Vice Chair has a pair. Suns not having a media session tells me they are processing what they want their response to be. I’m wondering how Ayton’s stance hangs in this balance on this too. You’re clearly gonna have players who think Sarver needs to hang by his own rope or those who will want to come out against him.
Best thing for the team is to have Sarver out, even from a basketball perspective, his behavior impacts this team negatively.

[virtual9mm]

Wow. This Vice Chair has a pair. Suns not having a media session tells me they are processing what they want their response to be. I’m wondering how Ayton’s stance hangs in this balance on this too. You’re clearly gonna have players who think Sarver needs to hang by his own rope or those who will want to come out against him.
Best thing for the team is to have Sarver out, even from a basketball perspective, his behavior impacts this team negatively.

Now, this is more interesting.

[virtual9mm]

If the rest of the ownership group wants him out for being a jerk, they have a good shot at it. In that case, there will be lawsuits flying all over the place.

I still think a lot of the article is unsubstantiated garbage.

[Mori Chu]

The thing about an article like this is that the article itself may not get Sarver ousted, but the reaction to the article could escalate to that level if people raise enough of a fuss about it. If people are booing at Suns games, if press conferences are a mess, if reporters won't stop bringing it up, if some employees protest or walk out, etc., it could get somewhere.

[ShelC]

Suns respond

[Mori Chu]

PHNX Suns podcast discusses the allegations and article.

[JeremyG]

[JeremyG]

Sarver out. It’s gross and disgusting and I think people shouldn’t accept this kind of behavior or culture. Any professional would be fired for this kind of behavior, simply because he is an owner doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

agreed on most of that, except that he is out. billionaires in this country get away with this all the time, and I think he will too. Cuban did.

The difference is that Cuban wasn't directly accused and denied any knowledge of the behavior occurring under him.

[Split T]

I almost wonder if espn did try to squash the story(why it didn’t come out when originally planned) only to have someone(probably earl watson or Klutch) leak that the story existed to get it published. I really don’t know what to think here, Sarver certainly has been a jerk, no question. I don’t know that there’s been any public stuff that would make me think he’s been racist. But that kind of behavior often stays private. He’s got quite a few people who spent a lot of time with him in the organization who are supporting him. This seems to largely be coming from Earl Watson who clearly has a personal issue with Sarver and because of that I’m not sure how credible he is. I hope they do investigate it and the truth comes out. Let’s get Sarver out of there or get Watson what he deserves for making stuff up.

[JeremyG]

I almost wonder if espn did try to squash the story(why it didn’t come out when originally planned) only to have someone(probably earl watson or Klutch) leak that the story existed to get it published. I really don’t know what to think here, Sarver certainly has been a jerk, no question. I don’t know that there’s been any public stuff that would make me think he’s been racist. But that kind of behavior often stays private. He’s got quite a few people who spent a lot of time with him in the organization who are supporting him. This seems to largely be coming from Earl Watson who clearly has a personal issue with Sarver and because of that I’m not sure how credible he is. I hope they do investigate it and the truth comes out. Let’s get Sarver out of there or get Watson what he deserves for making stuff up.

I don't understand why everyone is focusing on Watson's accusations, just because he is the biggest name on record. The Watson stuff is nowhere near as damning as the former executive's allegations, in which Sarver actually used the N-word on his own:

Sarver once used the N-word when trying to explain to a staffer why he preferred hiring Lindsey Hunter over Dan Majerle as head coach in 2013, according to a high-level executive who heard the remark. Hunter was a first-year Suns player development coordinator while Majerle was in his fifth year as a Suns associate head coach.

"These [N-words] need a [N-word]," Sarver told the staffer of his largely Black team, according to the executive.

Now we know why Dan Majerle was not hired when he deserved to be the head coach. Because the owner was a racist.

[Mori Chu]

NBA announces they will launch an investigation.

[JeremyG]

[Split T]

I almost wonder if espn did try to squash the story(why it didn’t come out when originally planned) only to have someone(probably earl watson or Klutch) leak that the story existed to get it published. I really don’t know what to think here, Sarver certainly has been a jerk, no question. I don’t know that there’s been any public stuff that would make me think he’s been racist. But that kind of behavior often stays private. He’s got quite a few people who spent a lot of time with him in the organization who are supporting him. This seems to largely be coming from Earl Watson who clearly has a personal issue with Sarver and because of that I’m not sure how credible he is. I hope they do investigate it and the truth comes out. Let’s get Sarver out of there or get Watson what he deserves for making stuff up.

I don't understand why everyone is focusing on Watson's accusations, just because he is the biggest name on record. The Watson stuff is nowhere near as damning as the former executive's allegations, in which Sarver actually used the N-word on his own:

Sarver once used the N-word when trying to explain to a staffer why he preferred hiring Lindsey Hunter over Dan Majerle as head coach in 2013, according to a high-level executive who heard the remark. Hunter was a first-year Suns player development coordinator while Majerle was in his fifth year as a Suns associate head coach.

"These [N-words] need a [N-word]," Sarver told the staffer of his largely Black team, according to the executive.

Now we know why Dan Majerle was not hired when he deserved to be the head coach. Because the owner was a racist.

Well I’d say it’s equally damning. I think it’s easier to focus on Watson because he’s actually named. Nobody knows who this executive is.