NBA
Debate about Suns owners: Board vice demands resignation
Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver watches a team game. photo
© Ross D. Franklin/AP/dpa
Phoenix Suns executive vice chairman Jahm Najafi has called for team owner Robert Sarver to step down.
Phoenix Suns executive vice chairman Jahm Najafi has called for team owner Robert Sarver to step down.
The NBA suspended him for a year and fined him $10 million for years of making racist and sexist comments and treating basketball team members unprofessionally. Many players in the league find this punishment too mild. NBA superstar LeBron James also complained publicly.
Najafi wrote in an open letter on Thursday that he could not sit back and allow children and future generations of fans to think that Sarver’s behavior was being tolerated because of his wealth and privilege. “So, and consistent with my commitment to helping eradicate all forms of racism, sexism and prejudice, I, as Executive Vice President of the Phoenix Suns, call on Robert Sarver to resign,” Najafi wrote.
NBA boss Adam Silver described the punishment for Sarver on Wednesday as harsh but appropriate and pointed out that he knew more about the results of the investigation than the general public. He also emphasized that there are high constitutional hurdles in the United States for taking someone’s property – and Sarver, who owns the WNBA team Phoenix Mercury in addition to the Suns, is not an employee or managing director.