While Robert Sarver was suspended for a year as owner of the Phoenix Suns, with a fine of $10 million (the maximum allowed under league rules), following the investigation into allegations of sexism and of racism in its management, many of them expressed that the sanction was too light.
LeBron James and Chris Paul launched the sling by expressing their indignation on social networks, then it was Jahm Najafi, the second largest shareholder of the Arizona franchise, who took over by demanding the outright dismissal , before being joined by PayPal, main sponsor of the Suns, which threatened to put an end to its collaboration if Robert Sarver returned at the end of his year of suspension.
A lifetime ban requested
The executive director of the players’ union, Tamika Tremaglio, was also very quick to react, being one of the first to ask that Robert Sarver be banned from the NBA.
Again questioned following the latest events that have added pressure around the suspended owner, she drove the point home by wishing this time to speak on behalf of the players of the league.
“We absolutely demand this ban for life”, she said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “We don’t want him to be in a position where he manages individuals who work with our players or with the players themselves. The conclusions of the report are absolutely clear: we do not want him to be in this position. Our players’ desire is that while we understand that there has been a thorough investigation and we are very happy that the NBA was able to follow up on it, because this is clearly something we want to see happen , we also want to make it very clear that we don’t want him back in a position where he will have an impact on our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis”.
How do players respond?
Even if Adam Silver has, rather awkwardly, recalled how complicated it was to withdraw a team from an owner, for Tamika Tremaglio, the machine is already engaged.
“I don’t know how much [Adam Silver] is open in terms of willingness to change. We hope it will be very clear that Robert Sarver should not be able to come back and take on a leadership role. We heard from other owners. We heard from the sponsors…” continues the leader of the union. “I think it’s pretty clear that we don’t want him back.”
For the time being, no discussion has taken place with the players about a possible boycott of the resumption of the season if the situation does not change.
“We haven’t had those discussions yet. We are all preparing for a season. But I think it’s very clear that our players are upset by what happened. Their hearts go out to the families and all the people who have had to endure this for such a long time. But at the same time, they know they have a job to do and are very excited to move forward towards the start of the season.”she added, while the response of the players will be decisive for the evolution of the file.
