Phoenix Rocked by Sarver Report
11/05/2021
By: Matthew Cahill
New ESPN Report Shares Years of Racism, Misogyny From Phoenix Suns Team Owner Robert Sarver
While the Phoenix Suns are currently in the midst of defending their Western Conference title, a jaw-dropping ESPN article written by Baxter Holmes was published yesterday that painted a haunting picture of the front office environment. The extensive article recounted a number of incidents involving owner Robert Sarver and his repeated incidents of racism and misogyny over the course of his last 17 years in charge of the Suns. The allegations include Sarver casually throwing around racial slurs in front of staff, passing around NSFW images of his own wife, and various inappropriate behaviors.
These actions seemed to have trickled down the entire organization as the article also notes how Sarver’s conduct led to an overall toxic work environment where racial insensitivity, sexual harassment, and a useless HR department became the norm when working for the Suns.
Sarver’s legal team strongly denied him being racist/sexist, countering almost every story in the article. Various current and past employees, including general manager James Jones and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, have noted that the news came as a shock to them and that they weren’t aware of this behavior.
Adrian Wojnarowski announced via Twitter that the NBA has launched an official investigation into both Robert Sarver and the Phoenix Suns. On the heels of their deepest playoff run in more than 20 years, the Suns now have an off-the-court saga that could linger through the 2021-22 season.
Additional Storylines
Yahoo! Sports: Earl Watson, Draymond Green Respond to Racism, Sexism Allegations Against Suns Owner Robert Sarver
Photo: Harry How / Getty Images