NBA commissioner Adam Silver personally apologized to Phoenix Suns employees over the league’s handling of racism and sexism claims against disgraced owner Robert Sarver, according to reports.
Silver issued his apology on behalf of the league to a group that consisted of hundreds of employees, hours before the Suns played their home opener against the Dallas Mavericks this week, report ESPN.
‘I’m incredibly empathetic to what many of you have lived through,’ Silver said. ‘To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize. I take responsibility for that.’
All together Silver’s meeting with the group lasted for almost an hour and included time for him to answer any questions from the employees in attendance. One of the questions asked was whether Silver or the league were aware of the issues happening in Phoenix, to which the commissioner said no.
‘Did I hear ever that Robert could be difficult to deal with? Sure,’ Silver told employees. ‘But that’s very different than conduct which is viewed as discriminatory in any way.
‘Obviously, it’s a failure of an overall system, of a league of 30 teams,’ Silver said.
 NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly personally apologized to Phoenix Suns employees
Over the league’s handling of racism and sexism claims against disgraced owner Robert Sarver
Sarver was slapped with a $10million fine and one-year ban from the NBA following allegations of racial and sexist slurs as well as bullying to employees.Â
Sarver, 60, announced his decision to sell the team and the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA after several sponsors, including Verizon Wireless and PayPal, were intending to cut sponsorship deals with both franchises. He initially bought the team in 2004 for $400million.Â
Silver had also privately advised Sarver to sell despite being of the opinion that the league’s 10-month investigation into the Suns owner’s inappropriate conduct was ‘dramatically different’ from the one tied to former LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling.Â
Sarver’s case has drawn comparison’s to that of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling (left), who was banned for life and fined $2.5m for racist comments against black people in 2014
In 2014, Sterling was handed a lifetime ban from the NBA after telling his mistress, V. Stiviano, in a recording obtained by TMZ that she is ‘not to bring them to my games,’ referring to black people. Â
Sarver was not deserving of the same punishment, Silver concluded and the NBA commissioner offered the Suns owner a path back to the league in 365-days time. The Arizona businessman was not caught on tape and there was no indisputable evidence to find him guilty by default, unlike Sterling.Â
The 60-year-old, whose net worth is estimated at $800million, and members of the front-office were, however, accused of racist and misogynistic behavior, including allegedly requiring a coach to fire a minority agent and allegedly announcing his preference for extra large condoms at a staff meeting.Â
Investigators from Wachtell Lipton were then hired by the league to look further into the ESPN report and confirmed the veracity of the claims by conducting more than 320 interviews, all mentioned in detail in a 43-page report that the league has shared with the public on September 13.Â
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However, several players, including Lebron James, of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Chris Paul, the Suns’ point guard, didn’t think Silver’s punishment was hard enough on Sarver.Â
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors star Green called for NBA owners to vote to determine whether Sarver should be removed as Phoenix Suns majority owner as he labeled his punishment ‘bulls***’.Â
National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) executive director Tamika Tremaglio echoed a majority of NBA players’ sentiments on the situation, and said in an ESPN interview that they were ‘absolutely calling for’ a lifetime ban.Â
Silver revealed that Sarver was likely spared even stronger sanctioning by the NBA for his racist, misogynistic and hostile words and actions because of one key conclusion by investigators.
Lawyers put in charge of Sarver’s case by the league determined the NBA owner’s use of slurs ‘was not motivated by racial animus.’
Had that not been the case, Silver indicated, Sarver’s punishment – a one-year suspension and $10m fine – would have been far more severe.
