Robert Sarver is in Big Trouble (ANNOUNCES SALE PROCESS)

[Cheesebeef]

This freaking sucks and is going to drag on for months. Sterling made it so easy. He said some horrific stuff on tape and then went on TV AND MADE IT WORSE! We’re not going to be so lucky.

I’ve already kinda tuned the team out this year compared to last. It’s now going to be even harder to care knowing all of this stuff out in the open now.

Sarver is a cancer. Has been as far as on the court issues since he took over the team and now there’s a plethora of info he was somehow worse OFF the court.

 

[Covert Rain]

This freaking sucks and is going to drag on for months. Sterling made it so easy. He said some horrific stuff on tape and then went on TV AND MADE IT WORSE! We’re not going to be so lucky.

I’ve already kinda tuned the team out this year compared to last. It’s now going to be even harder to care knowing all of this stuff out in the open now.

Sarver is a cancer. Has been as far as on the court issues since he took over the team and now there’s a plethora of info he was somehow worse OFF the court.

I hate to agree with you but I do. The only thing that can save the Suns is if someone comes forward with something so horrific that it accelerates things. I can't imagine anybody giving up their settlement and breaking their silence. So those people are likely out. Which means it would have to be someone in that 70 or others that have not come forward yet. These things tend to snowball.

 

[Chaplin]

This freaking sucks and is going to drag on for months. Sterling made it so easy. He said some horrific stuff on tape and then went on TV AND MADE IT WORSE! We’re not going to be so lucky.

I’ve already kinda tuned the team out this year compared to last. It’s now going to be even harder to care knowing all of this stuff out in the open now.

Sarver is a cancer. Has been as far as on the court issues since he took over the team and now there’s a plethora of info he was somehow worse OFF the court.

I get Sarver making it difficult but why on earth would you already tune them out after a Finals run? That's unbelievable to me, after so many years of not even a sniff of playoff basketball.

 

[Raindog]

This is a big mess and not at all surprising given Sarver's overall behavior that we have all long witnessed or heard about. Regardless of whether there is enough leverage for the NBA to actually (formally) force him out, it is all VERY bad for the business of operating the Suns as competitive sports entity, and I am almost certain there will be enough impetus for the remainder of the ownership group to force him out, whether by actual lawsuit, threat of lawsuit, forceable buyout, or just talking him into being sensible and leaving. And you can be sure the NBA will also be (informally) throwing its weight behind having him removed.

One way or another, I am pretty sure Sarver will be out. How long it may take, I cannot venture a guess.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Redskins scenario is what I fear most. What the NFL let them get away with after just basically a slap on the wrist was freaking disgusting. Taking pictures of half naked cheerleaders without them knowing and sending them around, yanking the passports of cheerleaders in essence holding them hostage for high rollers? It’s flipping ridiculous Snyder still runs that ship.

WTF? I never read into that stuff. I've only casually followed the NFL over the last 3 years or so, catching 1-2 games a year outside of the SB. The CTE/Concussion stuff was enough to make me lose interest but that will likely push me all the way out.

Thanks for the info because I'll look into it some to confirm for myself but that will likely be it for following the NFL.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I get Sarver making it difficult but why on earth would you already tune them out after a Finals run? That's unbelievable to me, after so many years of not even a sniff of playoff basketball.

I don’t know. It’s weird. You know I was ALL IN from the jump last year. That team carried me through the dark winter of the pandemic and then a really scary spring/summer as the family rallied around my mom who had to go back for another major surgery to remove her lung after having two massive surgeries one year earlier for cancer in the heart and lung. I was so stoked with that team that I never felt one moment of true sadness after the Finals. They gave me so many fun hours of entertainment in what was a really dark period.

But... I Didn’t get the package this year. Wasnt super crazy about the off-season and how they handled certain contracts and other contracts given out.

I don’t really have an answer for you but I just don’t have a lot of juice. I’ve missed most of the national TV games and haven’t really cared. The fact that they by all means look way off ain’t enticing me back.

I also spent soooooo much time last year indoors and doing nothing but watching sports that now that I’m back in LA, I’m much more active seeing friends and actually starting to live much more of life again.

It’s not a slam against the Suns or anything. Just focusing on different things right now.

 

[95pro]

And now with all the negativity, will teams not want to do trades with us? If the nba takes ownership, will trades likely not happen? I'm just wondering what this does to the product on the court.

 

[Hoop Head]

This freaking sucks and is going to drag on for months. Sterling made it so easy. He said some horrific stuff on tape and then went on TV AND MADE IT WORSE! We’re not going to be so lucky.

I’ve already kinda tuned the team out this year compared to last. It’s now going to be even harder to care knowing all of this stuff out in the open now.

Sarver is a cancer. Has been as far as on the court issues since he took over the team and now there’s a plethora of info he was somehow worse OFF the court.

People seem to forget Donald Sterling was married and his wife helped facilitate the quick action to remove him since she was involved with getting some sort of judgment against him that he wasn't of sound mind, which allowed her to sell the team despite his objections.

Maybe Mrs Sarver takes exception to her bikini pics being shared around the office? I don't think she'll be the asset that Shelly Ster!ing was though.

 

[Cheesebeef]

People seem to forget Donald Sterling was married and his wife helped facilitate the quick action to remove him since she was involved with getting some sort of judgment against him that he wasn't of sound mind, which allowed her to sell the team despite his objections.

Maybe Mrs Sarver takes exception to her bikini pics being shared around the office? I don't think she'll be the asset that Shelly Ster!ing was though.

Seriously... what kind of piece of crap flashes bikini pics of his wife and tells everyone about how much she loves giving ********?

 

[Raindog]

And now with all the negativity, will teams not want to do trades with us? If the nba takes ownership, will trades likely not happen? I'm just wondering what this does to the product on the court.

Well, you can bet any player who has any measure of control over it is most definitely not going to want to come here as long as Sarver is running things. Nobody with any career viability is going to want to be associated with a franchise that's run so poorly.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

You have an NBA owner pantsing am employee at a company function

That is a big deal on it's own

The much ado about nothing comments honestly kind of baffle me

 

[Hoop Head]

Seriously... what kind of piece of crap flashes bikini pics of his wife and tells everyone about how much she loves giving ********?

He didn't even deny that. He tried spinning it like it was ok. The bikini part, of course. If he admitted the sex stuff then he'd be on his way out.

 

[GatorAZ]

Sarver is so out of touch on how he comes off to other people. He doesn’t have the required circuitry on how to treat people the right way. We all know someone like that and they never change.

 

[jbjarko]

And here we go.

 

[Covert Rain]

And now with all the negativity, will teams not want to do trades with us? If the nba takes ownership, will trades likely not happen? I'm just wondering what this does to the product on the court.

Bank on it impacting deals and free agency. Drafted players don't have a choice. However, if you are an NBA owner, especially an NBA owner who already didn't like Sarver? You are not making deals as long as Sarver is owner. Same with free agents.

I am not going to be shocked if Advertisers start dropping the Suns too as this drags on.

 

[Hoop Head]

You have an NBA owner pantsing am employee at a company function

That is a big deal on it's own

The much ado about nothing comments honestly kind of baffle me

The pantsing bit seemed the most actionable item in there. It was surrounded by a lot of he/she said. Is that enough for the league to force him out? No. The league has mascots do things like that during halftime shows. It's juvenile, inappropriate, and concerning in a professional environment but is it shocking? It might get a manager fired but an owner? That's a different story. Billionaires play by different rules and Sarver is essentially a billionaire despite being worth roughly half of that, $450 million from what I recall.

 

[Raindog]

You have an NBA owner pantsing am employee at a company function

That is a big deal on it's own

The much ado about nothing comments honestly kind of baffle me

Reading some of the other well known Suns forums around the web, there does seem to be a contingency of posters defending all of this as "boys will be boys" or "who here hasn't done the same thing?" Which tells me that there are plenty of Suns fans I have interacted with on some of those sites that I wasn't prevously aware are actually pretty lousy people themselves.

 

[Cheesebeef]

You have an NBA owner pantsing am employee at a company function

That is a big deal on it's own

The much ado about nothing comments honestly kind of baffle me

Yeah. That’s gotta be close to some kind of sexual assault or harassment, by letter of law, no?

I mean... it’s embarrassing. It’s all freaking embarrassing.

 

[Covert Rain]

And here we go.

Sterling denied it too. The Clippers questioned it because of who they know Sterling is. Sound familiar??

The team released a statement saying, “Mr. Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life."

 

[Finito]

You have an NBA owner pantsing am employee at a company function

That is a big deal on it's own

The much ado about nothing comments honestly kind of baffle me

Some people see what they want to see

 

[Covert Rain]

The pantsing bit seemed the most actionable item in there. It was surrounded by a lot of he/she said. Is that enough for the league to force him out? No. The league has mascots do things like that during halftime shows. It's juvenile, inappropriate, and concerning in a professional environment but is it shocking? It might get a manager fired but an owner? That's a different story. Billionaires play by different rules and Sarver is essentially a billionaire despite being worth roughly half of that, $450 million from what I recall.

That's not true. Any employer that creates an environment or has incidents in which sexist or racist language that is used opens the organization up to legal lawsuits around harassment and discrimination. Likely the subject of many of the "settlements" the Suns entered into under Sarver. All of that is actionable based on current law. It might not be personally criminal in nature but you certainly open the organization up to lawsuits. Your liability goes up exponentially if the person who did it is not let go which gets a organization into deeper trouble for not taking action and terminating said employee.

The NBA could argue that he created an environment that not only is damaging the team but the NBA. Will they is a different story. Not sure what the appetite is. We shall see. The Sterling saga was a huge and long mess the NBA might not want to get into the middle of again outside an "investigation".

 

[TJ]

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Dude….

 

[jbjarko]

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Dude….

That gun is smoking...

 

[Dback Jon]

That gun is smoking...

Yup

 

[Phrazbit]

It's really sad that nothing in that article surprised me. He is a meddlesome, toxic, buffoon who is wildly insensitive... nothing that we didn't already know or suspect.

I don't think it is enough for the league to get the votes to force him out, but I think Sarver's co-owners are almost certainly going to try and force him out. Owning the team with him is now a stain on their reputations as well and, more importantly for them, will negatively effect their pocketbooks.