The owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, Robert Sarver, has been suspended for one year and fined $10 million after an investigation by the NBA. The fine is the maximum permitted by the league.
The investigation came after ESPN published a story last fall alleging gross misconduct during Sarver’s 17-year run with the teams. The NBA said in a Tuesday statement that Sarver used the N-word at least five times while “recounting the statements of others.” They also found that he perpetrated “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees” including “sex-related comments” and “engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees.”
