SUNS OF THE FATHER

Phoenix Suns Vice Chairman Calls for N-Word-Dropping Owner’s Resignation

Robert Sarver was fined $10 million and suspended for a year after an investigation found he’d used racist language, sexually harassed employees, and created a toxic workplace.

The owner of the second-biggest stake in the Phoenix Suns—behind only its embattled managing partner Robert Sarver—on Thursday night called for Sarver’s resignation in an open letter to the team’s employees, denouncing the “lewd, misogynistic and racist conduct” described in the report released Tuesday by the NBA. “I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans to think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege,” said Jahm Najafi, the Suns’ vice chairman and a private equity investor. The culmination of a 10-month investigation, the NBA’s report outlined how Sarver had, among other things, said the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others”; engaged in “inappropriate conduct” with female employees; and run a toxic, hostile workplace. Despite the findings, however, the league suspended Sarver for just one year and handed him a $10 million fine. Najafi’s statement came several hours before stars like the Lakers’ Lebron James and Suns point guard Chris Paul took to Twitter to condemn the meager punishment. “I gotta be honest…” James wrote. “Our league definitely got this wrong.”