Suns Co-Owner Calls for Sarver to Resign

The Phoenix Suns vice chairman is calling on the team’s owner to resign and sell his stake over findings of racism, misogyny, and a toxic workplace.

Jahm Najafi penned an open letter to the team’s employees and players “calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver,” who reportedly owns around 35% of the team. Najafi holds the second largest stake.

• The NBA fined Sarver $10 million and suspended him for one year, following an investigation into his conduct.
• NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio called for a lifetime ban of Sarver on Friday.
• LeBron James said there should be no tolerance for Sarver’s behavior and that the “league definitely got this wrong.”
• Suns’ star Chris Paul concurred, saying “the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that he doesn’t “have the right to take away his team,” and that the five-person commission that investigated Sarver found his use of slurs was not driven “by racial or gender-based animus.”

Patch Problems

The investigation stemmed in part from an ESPN report from November, 2021, which detailed repeated misogynistic behavior and racially insensitive language.

PayPal, the Suns’ jersey patch sponsor, said it would not renew its contract with the team, which runs through next season, if Sarver remains with the team.