Robert Sarver Selling the Phoenix Suns is not a "Punishment"

About a year ago, I wrote about Phoenix Suns owner, Robert Sarver, and his obsession with saying the n-word despite being told numerous times that it was anywhere between inappropriate to just straight-up racist.

Almost 11 months later and the NBA finally finished their investigation into how Sarver runs his team and decided it was worthy of a one-year suspension and a $10 million fine which is ashtray money for someone in Sarver’s tax bracket.

Robert Sarver threw the n-word around whenever he wanted. He sexually harassed both male and female employees and seemed like an overall creepy racist weirdo who passes around photos of his wife in a bikini and brags about her head game.

Well last week Sarver released a statement declaring his intent to sell the Phoenix Suns. Here’s what he had to say about his upcoming suspension:

“Words that I deeply regret now overshadow nearly two decades of building organizations that brought people together – and strengthened the Phoenix area – through the unifying power of professional men’s and women’s basketball.

As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness. I expected that the commissioner’s one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love.

But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past. For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.”

It should surprise no one that Robert Sarver immediately jumped on the cancel culture grenade as an excuse to sell the team. “The good I have done is outweighed by things I have said in the past” is a hilarious statement. A 60-year old man is telling us not to judge him on things he said in the past—a past that was like, 3 years ago when he was 57 years old and knew exactly what dumb shit he was saying.

So now he’s going to sell the team for billions and it’s OUR fault because we were mean to him and didn’t allow him to quietly be suspended for a year because he could not stop saying the n-word and doing super gay pranks on male employees.

This almost creates a new playbook for the other owners who may want to sell their teams in the future. Do a racism and the extremely temporary and fleeting bad press will expedite a sale that will put billions into your bank account overnight.

The only thing you can do is devalue the team by either having the players refuse to step on the court or take all Suns games off the schedule which probably leads to a bajillion lawyers and postponed court dates.

We should also recognize that the NBA is a side project for a majority of these owners and they have other real businesses they care more about where they are most likely acting upon their biases.

In Sarver’s case, he runs a Real Estate company—an industry that frequently mistreats brown people. Robert Sarver may jokingly say the n-word at his cool little basketball arena but actually acts upon his lack of respect for black people in the business that provides his main source of income.

This whole story will happen again next year with another owner and the right people will step up to be mad online and another group of people will defend the racist’s right to be racist and they’ll all get likes from their followers while the rich racists get richer and the cycle never ends.

Just wait until we find out all the weird shit Jeannie Buss is probably doing in the Lakers offices right now while the loud shotgun sounds of Russell Westbrook bricking 3’s in the practice facility echo throughout the halls.