If recent reports about team owner Robert Sarver are true, the Phoenix Suns could find themselves in a messy situation soon.
As NBA insider Jordan Schultz reported on Friday, the NBA is bracing itself for a bombshell story accusing the Suns owner of “racism, sexism and sexual harassment in a series of incidents.” The veteran reporter added that the evidences compiled in the huge piece could push the league to forcibly remove Sarver as franchise owner.
🚨 Breaking: The NBA is preparing for a massive story accusing #Suns owner Robert Sarver of racism, sexism and sexual harassment in a series of incidents, sources say. With enough evidence to support such claims, there’s a real chance the league would forcibly remove Sarver.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 22, 2021
Now, in a follow-up report by Arizona Sports, Shultz doubled down on his statement and called the story about Sarver a “monster.” He also shared that there are testimonials from the likes of former head coach Earl Watson and ex-GM Ryan McDonough.
“This report is a monster,” Schultz said. “As bad as you might think it might be for us to be having this conversation, it’s worse. What I was told some of the things that are going to surface in this report, including sexual harassment, it is jaw-dropping. There’s just no way that with all of these people on the record, men and women, that he’s going to be able to survive this in my eyes.
“What I was told was that there has been a kind of sweep under the rug culture that he has fostered,” he added.
The Suns and Robert Sarver have already denied the accusations even before the report gets published. In a statement released Friday after Schultz's teaser, Phoenix called the claims “completely baseless” and the documentation and accounts they have contradict the allegations.
Furthermore, the team urged everyone not to rush on judgements, promising that they will be answering all questions thrown at them.
The @Suns have put out this statement in response to the reports: pic.twitter.com/N5hgrzzP97
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 22, 2021
It's still unknown when the said report will be published and where. However, the NBA certainly needs to be ready for what should be a huge wave of media backlash.
For what it's worth, though, the Suns issue has all the makings of the Donald Sterling saga that happened with the Los Angeles Clippers back in 2014. A recording of Sterling making racist remarks was leaked online, eventually pushing Adam Silver to force the sale of the Clips.
Chris Paul, who was a member of the Clippers during the Sterling mess, could now find himself in a similar situation–this time with the Suns.
It is undoubtedly not a good look for the Suns to be involved in such controversial story, and it can certainly be a huge distraction to the team who entered the season with high hopes of replicating their 2020-21 success.
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