The fallout from the one-year suspension of Phoenix Suns owner/governor Robert Sarver continues — from the NBA players' perspective.
On Friday, Tamika Tremaglio, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association (or NBA players union), called for a lifetime ban on Sarver, whose suspension involves allegations of lewd, misogynistic and racist conduct in the workplace.
While speaking to ESPN, Tremaglio said her statement reflects the majority of opinions of her constituents, the NBA players.
"It is our players' desire that while we understand that there has been a thorough investigation ... we also want to make it very clear that we do not want him to be back in a position where [Sarver] will be impacting our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis," Tremaglio said.
An independent investigation reportedly found that Sarver, who owns the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, engaged in "inequitable conduct toward female employees."
Also, the investigation alleged that Sarver "made many sex-related comments in the workplace" and "inappropriate comments on the physical appearance of female employees and other women."
Tremaglio also alleged that Sarver "engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees" on several occasions.
Consequently, Tremaglio added, "we do not want [Sarver] to be in a position where he is managing or engaging with individuals who are engaging with our players or the players themselves. We are absolutely clear from the findings that are in the report that we do not want him to be in that position."
On Wednesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver characterized the Sarver punishment — which includes a $10 million fine — as "severe." He also assessed Sarver's workplace conduct as "indefensible."
Silver also said, however, that the investigation findings weren't enough to give him the immediate authority to force Sarver to sell the Suns and Mercury.
In 2021, Forbes had the Suns ranked 17th in NBA valuations, establishing a franchise value of $1.7 billion.
In terms of open-market bidding, it's reasonable to speculate that Sarver could sell the Suns for more than $2 billion, given the franchise's current talent base (the NBA's best regular-season record last season), Phoenix's year-round climate, and the team's strong fan support.
Plus, eight years have elapsed since former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers for a then-record $2 billion — after Clippers owner Donald Sterling was pressured to sell the franchise after incidents allegedly involving sexual harassment and racial bias.
His wife, Shelly Sterling, formally sold the team during Sterling's suspension.
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