Sarver ESPN story

[oddity]

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We need more of this to actually get this leech out of here

[Mulhollanddrive]

Put up the right price and everyones happy

[sunsbum]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

I'm certainly not condoning his behavior. In my first post, I pointed out the types of fines and punishments players received for various infractions. In my second post, I cut and pasted the NBA's report on an ESPN alleged comment that could not be confirmed.

To me, the punishment should be similar in many situations. For example, Jason Kidd abusing his wife and DUI incidents are as bad as Sarver's. DUIs kill and maim people. Domestic violence harms people. Yet there was very light-to-no punishment for Jason Kidd.

Kidd was and is a leader on the court, a leader as a coach, and a role model for children. Should a full investigation into Kidd's past and present be opened by the NBA interviewing all players, coaches, management, employees and others who came in contact with him while playing and coaching in the NBA? If so I'm sure there are incidents where Kidd made sexist comments, Kidd made sophomoric actions, and Kidd yelled and cursed at coaches, players, and referees while doing his job. Should Kidd be banned from the NBA?

You put any person under a microscope for an 18-20 year span and you are gonna find dirt. People are gonna **** up during their lives. We are all far from perfect. Do you give a person a chance to become better and improve once their shortcomings are pointed out or do you just kick them to the curb?

Silver really messed up and should have given Sarver a different punishment. Max fine of $10 million. A one-year suspension from the NBA and a 5-year probationary period where any substantiated incident of racism or misogyny that occurs would result in a vote of removal by the NBA owners and/or at least a 5-year suspension from the NBA. Something like that has way more teeth and motivates Sarver's ability to reform.

Well said, I’m glad Sarver will be forced out, he’s a bad owner and likely made things hard for a lot of people under him. That being said we are all human. What’s frightens me is the moral superiority some of the posters have shown here.

The NBA and their spokesman like
LBJ are such phonies. His step away from China and the Uyghurs speaks volumes. If people want to fight for a cause they should turn their gaze on that debacle. But they won’t.

[MrMiyagi]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

I'm certainly not condoning his behavior. In my first post, I pointed out the types of fines and punishments players received for various infractions. In my second post, I cut and pasted the NBA's report on an ESPN alleged comment that could not be confirmed.

To me, the punishment should be similar in many situations. For example, Jason Kidd abusing his wife and DUI incidents are as bad as Sarver's. DUIs kill and maim people. Domestic violence harms people. Yet there was very light-to-no punishment for Jason Kidd.

Kidd was and is a leader on the court, a leader as a coach, and a role model for children. Should a full investigation into Kidd's past and present be opened by the NBA interviewing all players, coaches, management, employees and others who came in contact with him while playing and coaching in the NBA? If so I'm sure there are incidents where Kidd made sexist comments, Kidd made sophomoric actions, and Kidd yelled and cursed at coaches, players, and referees while doing his job. Should Kidd be banned from the NBA?

You put any person under a microscope for an 18-20 year span and you are gonna find dirt. People are gonna **** up during their lives. We are all far from perfect. Do you give a person a chance to become better and improve once their shortcomings are pointed out or do you just kick them to the curb?

Silver really messed up and should have given Sarver a different punishment. Max fine of $10 million. A one-year suspension from the NBA and a 5-year probationary period where any substantiated incident of racism or misogyny that occurs would result in a vote of removal by the NBA owners and/or at least a 5-year suspension from the NBA. Something like that has way more teeth and motivates Sarver's ability to reform.

Well said, I’m glad Sarver will be forced out, he’s a bad owner and likely made things hard for a lot of people under him. That being said we are all human. What’s frightens me is the moral superiority some of the posters have shown here.

The NBA and their spokesman like
LBJ are such phonies. His step away from China and the Uyghurs speaks volumes. If people want to fight for a cause they should turn their gaze on that debacle. But they won’t.

**** LeBron too. You can want Sarver out and think LeBron and the NBA's stance on China is hypocritical and should be changed. Whataboutism to defend wrong doing is more worrisome IMO.

[enigmatics]

Ahhhhh good ol virtuous PayPal - who also freezes money/accounts with no actual valid reasons or in the name of politics. In fact recently they froze over a million in money raised by one of my favorite comic book writers (Eric D. July).

[enigmatics]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

Because the American Dream is to be a rich, selfish ****. How dare actions have consequences! The world should cater to my whims.

Nah the new American Dream is cancellation without chance of redemption depending on who/what you are or your political leanings. Btw the NBA didn't NOT do anything to the man. If he's to go it should be decided by the Suns board not the NBA.

[enigmatics]

It's definitely eye rolling material to watch all the unprincipled takes from players and fans alike. Oh ya you're so OUTRAGED while still cashing checks from the team or buying tickets/apparel. Nevermind the fact a guy like Lebron has built a merch empire on the backs of laborers working in places known for some of the WORST human rights violations in the world. Dude is always looking to take virtue shots at the low hanging fruit when he can like the ones at ol' Bobby today.

Sarver was clearly a misogynistic frat boy-esque douche for a long time, but racist? Stop, it's depleting brain cells trying to claim anything he said was racially charged. Doesn't even matter to me if he's here or not - clearly a lot of fans lose sleep over it. They've been foaming at the mouth to get rid of him so that this magical, hypothetical new unicorn owner can come in and spend insanely while driving up ticket prices. They're never going to let go of his prior roster/FO mishandlings.

A full year suspension is a long time away from the team he clearly loves. $10 million is a lot of money. Do people forget about redemption arcs or is it always OFF WITH HIS HEAD? All I know is this franchise/fanbase is back to being toxic again. Man that didn't take long.

There's been a laundry list of former players, executives, employees that spoke out long before hypocrites like LeBron started piling on in the last 48 hours when it became convenient. Matt Barnes, Amare Stoudemire, Amin Elhassan, Earl Watson, Jamal Crawford, Corliss Williamson, the list goes on - all spoke to Sarver's behavior before Adam Silver claimed in his press conference he was even aware. And that's just the players with a platform. Props to the employees who can't dribble and dunk who stuck their necks and careers out to speak out against this guy. Get outta here acting like this is some sort of witch hunt because he sold some draft picks 15 years ago and people have an axe to grind. It runs way, way deeper than that.

"These [N-words] need a [N-word]," Sarver said explaining to a staffer why he preferred hiring Lindsey Hunter over Dan Majerle as head coach in 2013. Sure, not a racist

Directly from the NBA report ...

Uncredited Report of N-word Use: Head Coach Hiring

The investigation did not substantiate ESPN’s report, attributed to “a
high-level executive who heard the remark,” that “Sarver once used the N-word
when trying to explain to a staffer why he preferred hiring [a Black head coach]” in
2013, allegedly saying, “‘These [N-words] need a [N-word].’”

The investigators did not identify anyone who heard this remark or heard
Sarver say that the head coach’s hiring was motivated by race. The investigators
interviewed every current or former Suns executive who the investigation suggested
might have been involved in the head coach’s hiring, and many others who might
have had knowledge of the decision. None of these witnesses—even those who
corroborated other accounts of Sarver purporting to repeat the N-word—said Sarver
made the quoted remark.

After all Kyrie Irving said the earth is flat ... so it must be true.

A "name-less" high level staffer? C'mon dude. Could you imagine if you were accused of something so disgusting and you had no way to dispute it because of anonymous sauces. It's not like if they went on record there could be retribution - as clearly there's a target on Sarver's back.

[enigmatics]

The snowball effect has begun with ownership calling for him to resign and now sponsorship.
I think it's no longer 'if', but 'when', he's gone.
I just pray this 'acting owner' Garvin isn't the one to replace him when that happens.

In my opinion this has always been about Najafi wanting to take over the team first and foremost. The talk has been floating around for a few years now if not more.

[starbosa10]

Imagine defending a scumbag like Sarver lol

[oddity]

I'm certainly not condoning his behavior. In my first post, I pointed out the types of fines and punishments players received for various infractions. In my second post, I cut and pasted the NBA's report on an ESPN alleged comment that could not be confirmed.

To me, the punishment should be similar in many situations. For example, Jason Kidd abusing his wife and DUI incidents are as bad as Sarver's. DUIs kill and maim people. Domestic violence harms people. Yet there was very light-to-no punishment for Jason Kidd.

Kidd was and is a leader on the court, a leader as a coach, and a role model for children. Should a full investigation into Kidd's past and present be opened by the NBA interviewing all players, coaches, management, employees and others who came in contact with him while playing and coaching in the NBA? If so I'm sure there are incidents where Kidd made sexist comments, Kidd made sophomoric actions, and Kidd yelled and cursed at coaches, players, and referees while doing his job. Should Kidd be banned from the NBA?

You put any person under a microscope for an 18-20 year span and you are gonna find dirt. People are gonna **** up during their lives. We are all far from perfect. Do you give a person a chance to become better and improve once their shortcomings are pointed out or do you just kick them to the curb?

Silver really messed up and should have given Sarver a different punishment. Max fine of $10 million. A one-year suspension from the NBA and a 5-year probationary period where any substantiated incident of racism or misogyny that occurs would result in a vote of removal by the NBA owners and/or at least a 5-year suspension from the NBA. Something like that has way more teeth and motivates Sarver's ability to reform.

Well said, I’m glad Sarver will be forced out, he’s a bad owner and likely made things hard for a lot of people under him. That being said we are all human. What’s frightens me is the moral superiority some of the posters have shown here.

The NBA and their spokesman like
LBJ are such phonies. His step away from China and the Uyghurs speaks volumes. If people want to fight for a cause they should turn their gaze on that debacle. But they won’t.

**** LeBron too. You can want Sarver out and think LeBron and the NBA's stance on China is hypocritical and should be changed. Whataboutism to defend wrong doing is more worrisome IMO.

Kinda building off what Miyagi is saying:
I have criticism for Lebron's and NBA's handling of the china situation, but we are talking about Sarver and how he has to go, and two wrongs don't make a who cares. Obviously, we all wish people's feet were held to the fire in calling out a horrific regime, but Sarver has literally created his own awful regime within the NBA itself. Comparing the NBA's stance on outside social issues and an actual team within the NBA compromising its HR department is comparing apples to oranges. Worse yet, it could be seen as a red herring or false equivalence that bad-intentioned people can use to justify defending or sympathizing with Sarver. This man deserves zero sympathies. He and his billions can **** off

[oddity]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

Because the American Dream is to be a rich, selfish ****. How dare actions have consequences! The world should cater to my whims.

Nah the new American Dream is cancellation without chance of redemption depending on who/what you are or your political leanings. Btw the NBA didn't NOT do anything to the man. If he's to go it should be decided by the Suns board not the NBA.

I have problems with cancel culture or whatever too, but the entire reason behind wanting to cancel people in the first place is to allow the populous to get justice for the wrongdoings of the elite and powerful. Sarver was up to these horrific shenanigans for almost 2 decades, and his power, wealth, and influence deterred any rightful punishment for his actions. Even now, he got the most meager of slaps on the wrist, and the NBA would rather pass the buck off to the players and populous to seek justice then risk getting involved in a messy legal dispute. At this point, what do you want people to do, especially the dozens of employees he has wronged?? Just sit on all of our thumbs like idiots and wait for this schmuck to come back and everything to go back to how it used to be?????????

[MrMiyagi]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

Because the American Dream is to be a rich, selfish ****. How dare actions have consequences! The world should cater to my whims.

Nah the new American Dream is cancellation without chance of redemption depending on who/what you are or your political leanings. Btw the NBA didn't NOT do anything to the man. If he's to go it should be decided by the Suns board not the NBA.

The man showed no remorse for his actions. People are fine with redemption, but this man ain't looking for it.

[Slim Charless]

There's been a laundry list of former players, executives, employees that spoke out long before hypocrites like LeBron started piling on in the last 48 hours when it became convenient. Matt Barnes, Amare Stoudemire, Amin Elhassan, Earl Watson, Jamal Crawford, Corliss Williamson, the list goes on - all spoke to Sarver's behavior before Adam Silver claimed in his press conference he was even aware. And that's just the players with a platform. Props to the employees who can't dribble and dunk who stuck their necks and careers out to speak out against this guy. Get outta here acting like this is some sort of witch hunt because he sold some draft picks 15 years ago and people have an axe to grind. It runs way, way deeper than that.

"These [N-words] need a [N-word]," Sarver said explaining to a staffer why he preferred hiring Lindsey Hunter over Dan Majerle as head coach in 2013. Sure, not a racist

Directly from the NBA report ...

Uncredited Report of N-word Use: Head Coach Hiring

The investigation did not substantiate ESPN’s report, attributed to “a
high-level executive who heard the remark,” that “Sarver once used the N-word
when trying to explain to a staffer why he preferred hiring [a Black head coach]” in
2013, allegedly saying, “‘These [N-words] need a [N-word].’”

The investigators did not identify anyone who heard this remark or heard
Sarver say that the head coach’s hiring was motivated by race. The investigators
interviewed every current or former Suns executive who the investigation suggested
might have been involved in the head coach’s hiring, and many others who might
have had knowledge of the decision. None of these witnesses—even those who
corroborated other accounts of Sarver purporting to repeat the N-word—said Sarver
made the quoted remark.

After all Kyrie Irving said the earth is flat ... so it must be true.

A "name-less" high level staffer? C'mon dude. Could you imagine if you were accused of something so disgusting and you had no way to dispute it because of anonymous sauces. It's not like if they went on record there could be retribution - as clearly there's a target on Sarver's back.

Well I'm convinced. Sarver is real victim here. Well, him and non POC who feel it is their right to use the N-word. When and wherever they want.

Amiright bro?
#MAGA #Trump2024 #WWG1WGA #thesouthwillriseagain

PS: We should build Sarver a statue if anything.

[oddity]

Directly from the NBA report ...

Uncredited Report of N-word Use: Head Coach Hiring

The investigation did not substantiate ESPN’s report, attributed to “a
high-level executive who heard the remark,” that “Sarver once used the N-word
when trying to explain to a staffer why he preferred hiring [a Black head coach]” in
2013, allegedly saying, “‘These [N-words] need a [N-word].’”

The investigators did not identify anyone who heard this remark or heard
Sarver say that the head coach’s hiring was motivated by race. The investigators
interviewed every current or former Suns executive who the investigation suggested
might have been involved in the head coach’s hiring, and many others who might
have had knowledge of the decision. None of these witnesses—even those who
corroborated other accounts of Sarver purporting to repeat the N-word—said Sarver
made the quoted remark.

After all Kyrie Irving said the earth is flat ... so it must be true.

A "name-less" high level staffer? C'mon dude. Could you imagine if you were accused of something so disgusting and you had no way to dispute it because of anonymous sauces. It's not like if they went on record there could be retribution - as clearly there's a target on Sarver's back.

Well I'm convinced. Sarver is real victim here. Well, him and non POC who feel it is their right to use the N-word. When and wherever they want.

Amiright bro? #MAGA #Trump2024

PS: We should build Sarver a statue if anything.

Make it look like this:

[bwgood77]

I wonder how it would be taken if he transferred his ownership and managing partner status to his son Max to take over. He does have 2 other sons so I imagine he would have to have something in writing that they each get a third of the sale price if/when team is sold.

Of course Sarver is too greedy to give away the team, even to family, while he's alive.

[bwgood77]

At least if Sarver sells, he can upgrade from a flip phone.

[Frank Lee]

Where was this Najafi dude the past 15 years? Who else sat silently on the ownership board while Bobby diddled away? Now you hear Naj saying ‘he will work tirelessly to make sure that doesn’t happen again’…. ? … great, that’s like saying ‘I will assure you my gate will be closed and my goats will not destroy your yard … again’

How do you not protect your investment against this type of behavior.

The Cancel Culture swings a heavy corrective mallet. But it’s the Enabling Culture that hammers the true damage down.

[Mulhollanddrive]

I don't think Chris Paul makes his statement unless he thought Sarver's not coming back.

The best result actual basketball result would be a billionaire willing to pay to win like GSW.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Where was this Najafi dude the past 15 years? Who else sat silently on the ownership board while Bobby diddled away? Now you hear Naj saying ‘he will work tirelessly to make sure that doesn’t happen again’…. ? … great, that’s like saying ‘I will assure you my gate will be closed and my goats will not destroy your yard … again’

How do you not protect your investment against this type of behavior.

The Cancel Culture swings a heavy corrective mallet. But it’s the Enabling Culture that hammers the true damage down.

From what I can tell with a little googling it appears his group invested in the suns around 2014 although it's hard to get an extra timeline. I doubt a minority investor has much if any interaction with the day to day operations of the club.

I am a little surprised we haven't seen some of the actual executives from the team go down in this investigation because of the hostile work environment.

I also think this is a bad use of the old catch all 'cancel culture'. This dude's been a known **** for decades and an obviously bad owner. And when you consider they got a huge check for an arena upgrade the public has some skin in the game when it comes to this business, it's not like he owns a private shoe company or something like that.

Is it a bit opportunistic by some of of fans trying to get him out? Absolutely. Like I personally don't give one **** what's 'fair' here. Ive wanted him gone for a long time and this seems like the best chance of that happening.

I'll take my chances the next owner will be better for the franchise whomever that happens to be. The bar is set extremely low.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[SSOL]

Public outrage will hopefully push him out. Bad owner and individual. I don't get why some of you are condoning his behavior over the past decade plus.

I'm certainly not condoning his behavior. In my first post, I pointed out the types of fines and punishments players received for various infractions. In my second post, I cut and pasted the NBA's report on an ESPN alleged comment that could not be confirmed.

To me, the punishment should be similar in many situations. For example, Jason Kidd abusing his wife and DUI incidents are as bad as Sarver's. DUIs kill and maim people. Domestic violence harms people. Yet there was very light-to-no punishment for Jason Kidd.

Kidd was and is a leader on the court, a leader as a coach, and a role model for children. Should a full investigation into Kidd's past and present be opened by the NBA interviewing all players, coaches, management, employees and others who came in contact with him while playing and coaching in the NBA? If so I'm sure there are incidents where Kidd made sexist comments, Kidd made sophomoric actions, and Kidd yelled and cursed at coaches, players, and referees while doing his job. Should Kidd be banned from the NBA?

You put any person under a microscope for an 18-20 year span and you are gonna find dirt. People are gonna **** up during their lives. We are all far from perfect. Do you give a person a chance to become better and improve once their shortcomings are pointed out or do you just kick them to the curb?

Silver really messed up and should have given Sarver a different punishment. Max fine of $10 million. A one-year suspension from the NBA and a 5-year probationary period where any substantiated incident of racism or misogyny that occurs would result in a vote of removal by the NBA owners and/or at least a 5-year suspension from the NBA. Something like that has way more teeth and motivates Sarver's ability to reform.

Well said, I’m glad Sarver will be forced out, he’s a bad owner and likely made things hard for a lot of people under him. That being said we are all human. What’s frightens me is the moral superiority some of the posters have shown here.

The NBA and their spokesman like
LBJ are such phonies. His step away from China and the Uyghurs speaks volumes. If people want to fight for a cause they should turn their gaze on that debacle. But they won’t.

I apologize if you feel frightened (as you stated) but I don’t think it’s “moral superiority.” I think it’s plainly having and believing in a standard set of morals (don’t degrade women, refrain from using racial slurs in any context, treat others how you wish to be treated) versus actions which show a severe lack of moral integrity. It really is that simple. Outside of the morality issue, when approved by the BOG to enter NBA ownership, a person is bound by the bylaws of the league and Sarver knowingly violated those bylaws. Again, it really is that simple.