NBA to investigate Suns owner Robert Sarver in wake of reported claims of

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, who is white, has said the N-word on multiple occasions; made lewd, misogynistic comments in meetings; berated coaches and presided over a toxic work environment in which employees have been discouraged from going to the human resources office, according to a wide-ranging story by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes published Thursday. 

The story quotes a Suns co-owner saying, “The level of misogyny and racism is beyond the pale. It’s embarrassing as an owner.” A former team executive added, “There’s literally nothing you could tell me about him from a misogynistic or race standpoint that would surprise me.” 

The NBA announced an investigation into Sarver and the organization on Thursday.

“The allegations contained in today’s ESPN article are extremely serious, and we have directed the Wachtell Lipton law firm to commence a comprehensive investigation,” league spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement. “The NBA and WNBA remain committed to providing a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees. Once the investigation is completed, its findings will provide the basis for any league action.”

In the ESPN story, a current Suns employee on the business side is directly quoted on the possibility of an investigation: “If the commissioner comes in and investigates to see what the f— is going on in Phoenix, [he] would be appalled.”

Among the incidents throughout Sarver’s 17-year tenure reported by ESPN:

• Sarver repeatedly said the N-word in the coaches room after a loss against the Golden State Warriors in 2016, complaining that Draymond Green, who is Black, said it during the game. Then-coach Earl Watson told him, “You can’t f—ing say that.” 
• At least six Suns employees described Sarver saying the N-word aloud when repeating something a Black player had said. 
• In telling a Suns employee that he wanted to hire Lindsey Hunter, who is Black, instead of Dan Majerle, who is white, as coach in 2013, Sarver said, “These [N-words] need a [N-word],” according to an executive who heard the conversation.
• Sarver made a racially insensitive comment during Steve Nash’s recruiting meeting in the summer of 2004. An executive in the room said, “We signed Steve Nash despite Robert.”
• As the Suns tried to sign LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015, they knew that he would like to play near his children in Texas. Sarver said then that they needed to get Phoenix-area strippers pregnant with NBA-player children so the team could have an edge in recruiting. “A lot of the stuff he says is to get a big reaction,” a former employee said. “And who’s going to tell him that he can’t? He speaks in threats. He likes that awkwardness. He likes people to know that he’s in charge. He wants control. He wants control of every situation and every person.”
• While involved in a contract dispute with Eric Bledsoe’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, Sarver threatened to fire Watson unless the coach, who was also represented by Klutch, ditched the agency. “It’s almost like an ownership thing,” Watson said. “He wants people to call him and beg him.”
• During Watson’s first season, the coach was…