Robert Sarver, the owner of NBA team the Phoenix Suns and WNBA team the Phoenix Mercury, was involved in a huge controversy over the past few days. According to AP, Sarver was under investigation for several months. The investigation ensued after the NBA was made aware of Sarver’s alleged inappropriate and harsh behavior against his employees.
Consequently, the NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million. Although Sarver had accepted most of the accusations from the report, made after the inquiry, he has also denied some of the claims.
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Following the suspension, Sarver recently announced that he has decided to sell the Suns and the Mercury. This decision came after several officials and sports personalities condemned Sarver’s behavior. The chief of the National Basketball Players Association, Tamika Tremaglio, demanded Sarver be banned for life. Furthermore, the Suns’ major sponsor declared that they would not extend their deal with the team if the team involved Sarver.
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“I do not want to be a distraction,” said Sarver. “I want what’s best for these two organizations, the players, the employees, the fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA, and the WNBA,”?said Sarver.
LeBron James is not happy with the league’s decision
NBA stars LeBron James and Chris Paul urged the league to charge Sarver with a stronger penalty. James felt that the punishment wasn’t enough and condemned Sarver’s behavior.
behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2022
I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 15, 2022
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Subsequently, the Suns’ owner is now currently looking for potential buyers for the team, and several big names of interested buyers have come up. According to ESPN, the CEO of Amazon seems to be one of them. Along with Jeff Bezos, the names of former Disney CEO Bob Iger, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and the minority owner of the Washington Wizards Laurene Powell Jobs have also come up as interested buyers. Notably, the estimated price of the NBA team is $1.92 billion.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on the Suns’ potential buyers:
“There’s a lot of names out there, like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.” pic.twitter.com/8fbVtDNUo7
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 21, 2022
However, while the rumors are not confirmed, fans are already giving mixed reactions.
Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:
The Phoenix Prime 💀💀
— Uddav (@peaceful_udove) September 21, 2022
Bro gonna find a way to put rockets in their shoes
— ً’ (@bekfestv) September 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/BehemothBaller/status/1572715566590296064?s=20&t=bSYS8edloblTVg1MhqMzNg
Bezos could buy the team for $2 billion and not even notice or care about the purchase and make a cool $2-$4 billion by the time he sells the team one day..
— Andrew Sanoff (@AndrewSanoff) September 21, 2022
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I dont want him to send the team to space. let them stay here!
— Bon Schnugles (@sandfleas) September 21, 2022
Phoenix Ama-Suns
— BibitF (@bibitfiii) September 21, 2022
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Do you think Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will buy the Phoenix Suns? How do you think we would do as an owner of an NBA team? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
