The NBA announced Tuesday that it has fined Robert Sarver, owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, with a one-year suspension and a $ 10 million fine for abusive workplace behavior and degrading treatment. of its employees.
This hefty -10 million fine is the maximum fine under the league’s internal regulations – it is the result of an NBA investigation that emerged from an ESPN report published in November 2021, which had spoken to more than 70 workers and former Sarver employees who they accused him of racism and machismo within a toxic work environment.
Sarver is also Mallorca’s largest shareholder in Spanish football. The NBA investigation, which examined more than 80,000 documents and interviewed 320 employees and former employees, concluded that Sarver used a very serious racist slur against the African American population on at least five occasions.
The league also found that Sarver made many sexist and derogatory comments about women, said his “humiliating” behavior also included “yelling” and “insulting” his workers, and noted that “his conduct clearly violated standards. common areas of the workplace “. . “The allegations and conduct described in the results of this independent investigation are troubling and disappointing,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
“I hope the NBA community uses this opportunity to reflect on what this great game means to people and the values of equality, respect, and inclusion that it strives to represent. On behalf of the entire NBA, I apologize to all concerned by this misconduct, “he added. With this sanction, Sarver will not be able to be in any act of the Suns or Mercury for a year or have any kind of role in the operation and in the daily life of both franchises.
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