The Robert Sarver Incident

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Sarver is the primary owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise.  He has just been suspended from all contact with the team for one year and fined $10 million by NBA Commisioner Adam Silver for repeating statements made by others that used the N-word at least 5 times, and for making inappropriate remarks in the workplace to female employees.  Players such as Chris Paul and Lebron James, and the head of the NBA Players Association have stated that the sanctions aren't stiff enough, and that Sarver should be forced to resign and sell his controlling interest in the team.  
 

While Sarver's actions are bad, and he has been duly penalized, are they any worse than Kobe Bryant's?  Kobe used a homophobic slur against an official on the court during a game, and anally raped a young woman in a hotel room in Denver.  One remains an exalted NBA legend, while the other is being cast as a pariah.

There are other living NBA stars, such as the Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant and the Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards, who have also been sanctioned for derogatory homophobic statements, yet you don't here Lebron James asking for stiffer penalties in their cases.

Seems a little disproportionate.



opinion piece right?

 

jfc

 

When your vice chairman calls for your resignation, it's not good!  

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2022/09/15/suns-vice-cha...

So because a black man was not charged in a crime, and was allowed to get away with a homophobic slur, this guy should be able to abuse women and remain in power? I am not understanding what that has to do with this case. 

 

>There are other living NBA stars, such as the Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant and the Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards, who have also been sanctioned for derogatory homophobic statements, yet you don't here Lebron James asking for stiffer penalties in their cases

They were punished but it was not enough because Lebron James did not say anything? 

 

These are different times and a precedent has been set in the Los Angeles Clippers case. Now this stupid rich white guy was too dumb to take notice and stop his actions after seeing all of this before hand by the Clippers owner. Hell, he and the other owners took the Clippers owners team away from him, but this idiot didn't get it. 
 

>"This conduct included the use of racially insensitive language; unequal treatment of female employees; sex-related statements and conduct; and harsh treatment of employees that on occasion constituted bullying," it continued.

To be clear, there is no dispute of Sarver's punishment, just confusion as to why others aren't being held as accountable for similar poor word choices, and in Bryant's case, more reprehensible actions.  Is it just because he was in a greater position of power as an owner?   His fine and suspension are already far beyond any sanctions Durant and Edwards received.  Bryant's legacy has been lionized and he's in the Hall Of Fame.   Sarver has probably sealed his fate, but if the NBA Players' Association and some of their leading players expect all of their members to behave saintly, they're in for a reckoning.

While owners obviously hold more financial power than players, in terms of public influence, players hold more.  Most young kids pursuing their hoop dreams don't know and don't care who the owners are.   No matter what Charles ("I am not a role model, parents should be role models") Barkley has said, many children look to the players as their role models.  Lebron James isn't shying away from this "role".  If he's calling out Sarver, shouldn't he be calling out his peers as well?

Kobe's position as an earner for the league as a whole, and his wealth afforded him the ability to handle his case as a wealthy person in America, he bought his way out of the charges, something rich white people have been doing for ages. Sure justice is equal it's the paying for good representation that really tilts  the system. 
 

owners have more of a public and community responsibly than players for obvious reasons, most players are on a team for 2-3 years, and they own the business and are required to follow professional standards. Players are employees and can also be brought up on work place infractions like sexual harassment, but it seems to me not many are, but an awful lot of upper management males in these leagues are. Sports has always been sexist, do you remember that for years Jerry Jones did not even pay the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders a smidgen of what they were worth. 
 

I am a Lebron James fan off of the court. Say what you want about the guy but he is the greatest marketer in all of sports, and he did it his way with his friends involved. He has also been a good role model and has never gotten into trouble with the law.  Lebron fully understands freedom of speech, but he also fully grasps his right to remain silent, remember his silence in the China controversy? He wants to be an owner, this could be an open door to achieving that. It's called leverage, in business it is practiced every day. Freedom of speech and the right to remain silent are rights given  to all Americans 

 

Americans like the people on TV, the owner is not on TV, in other words, he is not going to win in the court of public opinion. I think he loses the team too in the end, but then again he will win big time in the court of public dollars when the team is sold, this guy will come out well ahead of where he started. 
 

 NBA Players Association have stated that the sanctions aren't stiff enough, and that Sarver should be forced to resign and sell his controlling interest in the team.  <<<<

If NFL owners can freeze out Colin Kaepernick, what's good for the goose is good for the gander in the centuries' old caste system!

While owners obviously hold more financial power than players, in terms of public influence, players hold more.<<<

^ THIS

Michael Jordan vs. Cookie Crumb (aka Jerry Krause) always immediately comes to mind if you follow the logical possibilities to their conclusion ... in that players COULD ultimately outmaneuver owners in "total war" if they remained unified.

Krause had made a statement (although not quite as adversarial as OP topic) along the lines of "Players and coaches don't win championships, organizations do"

hear. FFS.

Floops, help this guy.

He is selling the teams, let's see if Chris Paul and Lebron are in any of the groups trying to buy the teams