A new era is around the corner for the Phoenix Suns. This year’s NBA Media Day is unlike any other most of the roster has ever experienced as they are playing for a franchise that is in the early stages of being sold.
It was recently announced that owner Robert Sarver, who also owns the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, was being suspended for one year and fined $10 million following the results of the NBA’s investigation into allegations against him. Sarver was found to have a history of racist, sexist and misogynistic acts.
It was something that rocked the organization despite these acts reportedly going on for years. While Sarver didn’t believe he should be punished to the degree that he was, many thought he had gotten off easy. People called for him to resign and sponsors threatened to end deals if Sarver remained involved in any capacity.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Robert Sarver & Phoenix Suns Updates
That has led to him deciding to sell the franchise. At Media Day, that was unsurprisingly a major topic of discussion.
“I was in disbelief,” head coach Monty Williams said. “When you see the bullet points and then when you go through it, um, you start to think about how these things impact the people.”
“I would say just a state of shock,” general manager James Jones said. “You don’t want that around the organization. You don’t want that to be the issue.”
“It was tough, just like anybody, reading all the different things,” star guard Chris Paul said. “It was more so also the things that people have to endure in the workplace.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Robert Sarver & Phoenix Suns Updates
Paul was one of the people who took to social media to voice his displeasure with the original punishment that was handed out. This isn’t the first time that he has been part of a team that has had issues with the owner, as he was on the Los Angeles Clippers when Donald Sterling was suspended for life by commissioner Adam Silver.
Hearing the news about Sarver is something that truly shocked the team’s other All-Star, Devin Booker. He is the longest-tenured Sun and was taken aback by everything that had occurred.
“That’s tough for me because that’s not the Robert Sarver that I know, it’s not the Robert that welcomed me to Phoenix with open arms,” said Booker.
“But at the same time, I’m not insensitive to everybody that’s involved in the situation. I understand everybody’s personal experience with other people are always going to be different.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Robert Sarver & Phoenix Suns Updates
That is surely going to be the most popular topic of discussion through the early parts of training camp and likely until a new ownership group is announced. There is no place in the NBA or any workplace for what Sarver did. He is being removed from ownership, but how much of a punishment is it really since he will likely be making billions of dollars from the sale?
