For the purposes of his public profile, Robert Sarver will soon be reclassified from “NBA owner” to “former NBA owner,” and for that everyone in the league can be reasonably grateful. The Suns, their employees and the NBA at large will most assuredly be better off without an unrepentant sexist and office bully who dabbled in the use of the n-word, with no sense of shame or regret.
Sarver on Wednesday announced his intent to sell both the Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury, bowing to public pressure just one week after NBA commissioner Adam Silver dealt him a one-year ban and a $10 million fine following an internal investigation. The news was greeted with virtual cheers, in statements from LeBron James and CJ McCollum, from former Suns employees and from countless fans and pundits who were appalled by Sarver’s extensive history of misconduct.
Sarver will soon divest himself of the Suns, the NBA will divest itself of Sarver, and this latest ugly chapter involving a franchise owner will draw to a merciful close. It’s the right outcome, the just outcome. But let's not call it justice.
