The North American Basketball League (NBA) has punished the owner of the Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver, with a one-year suspension and a fine of 10 million dollars (about 10 million euros) for racist and misogynistic behavior.
The sanction was announced Tuesday and Sarver was unable to lead the club, as well as attend the facilities of the NBA and Women’s League (WNBA) teams.
An independent report requested by the NBA showed that Sarver “clearly violated” the rules of good conduct in the professional world, but also in competition.
The owner of the Suns, and the Phoenix Mercury, of the WNBA, was accused of having unfairly treated the employees, with “expressions that did not take into account their racial sensitivities”, a language of sexual connotation and an attitude of harassment.
According to the investigation, Sarver pronounced the “n… [negro]” five times and told one of his pregnant employees that she would not do her job well if she were a mother.
“I am sorry to have caused damage and inconvenience, but these errors of judgment do not correspond to my philosophy and my values,” the businessman reacted, assuming the disagreement with the NBA’s decision.
The amount of the fine imposed on Sarver will be donated to organizations that fight against racial and gender discrimination.
This is not the first similar case in the NBA. In 2014, Donald Sterling, former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was expelled from the NBA for making racist comments in a private conversation.
Source: Observadora
