The outcry was heard loud and clear on social media after the NBA announced its punishment for Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver over a range of workplace misconduct allegations.
Sarver received a year-long suspension from his two franchises – the Phoenix Suns and Mercury – as well as a $10 million fine after dozens of accounts voicing out concerns of misogyny and racism involving Sarver directly and the environment he allowed to foster.
According to ESPN's Baxter Holmes who broke the bombshell story, the reactions from the people he came in contact with and interviewed for the report aren't too pleased with the ruling. One current staffer called the NBA “spineless” while a high-ranking Suns executive is bothered by how it compares to the Donald Sterling lifetime ban.
Via Baxter Holmes on NBA Today:
“There's a range of emotions. … A female former staffer who described this as being a slap on the wrist, but also a measure of relief that what they said to the attorneys was taken seriously, that something actually happened.
“I have a recent message from a current staffer who said, and I quote, ‘I cannot express to you how mad and disappointed people are at the spineless nature of the NBA's decision.' I also talked to a high level executive who – in the context of what the punishment was for Donald Sterling and looking at the breadth of the NBA's report, the range of allegations, the time period elapsed – can't understand how this was not more severe.”
Baxter Holmes joins NBA Today with reporting on Robert Sarver. One current employee told @Baxter today: “I cannot express to you how mad and disappointed people are at the spineless nature of the NBA’s decision.” pic.twitter.com/dRDxl9Egqv
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) September 13, 2022
It doesn't appear likely that the NBA would renege on its punishment in place of a more severe one. But don't expect the outcry from the Suns workers and staffers involved to stay quiet about it anytime soon.
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