Adam Silver repeatedly apologized to Suns employees in meeting after Robert Sarver investigation
NBA commissioner Adam Silver apologized to Phoenix Suns employees multiple times this week in a nearly hour-long address ahead of their season-opener following its investigation into owner Robert Sarver, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Sarver has since started the process of selling both the Suns and the Phoenix Mercury after an investigation into his misconduct.
“I’m incredibly empathetic to what many of you have lived through,” Silver told employees in the team’s arena on Wednesday night before the Suns' win over the Dallas Mavericks, via ESPN.
“Did I hear ever that Robert could be difficult to deal with? Sure,” he added later. “But that’s very different than conduct which is viewed as discriminatory in any way.”
Interim governor and minority owner Sam Garvin was at the meeting, too and he apologized on behalf of the remaining ownership group.
The NBA announced last month that it was suspending Sarver for one-year and fining him $10 million after its investigation into his misconduct, which revealed that he used the N-word on multiple occasions, made inappropriate sexual and vulgar jokes, demeaned female employees repeatedly and more.
Saver then revealed plans a week later to sell both franchises. He reportedly owns about one-third of the Suns, and can authorize the full sale of the team — which was last valued at about $1.8 billion.
Silver told Suns employees that he and the league weren’t aware of any allegations related to Sarver until ESPN first published a story about it in 2021, which he saw as a failure.
“Obviously, it's a failure of an overall system, of a league of 30 teams,” he said.
Among other things, Silver said he thought the law firm that conducted the investigation into Sarver “did the best job that they could,” and he was asked what the league would do to help combat issues like this in the future elsewhere in the league.
Silver also said he didn’t have any “deep answers.”
"To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize,” Silver said. “I take responsibility for that."
