At the heart of various accusations of racism, sexism and misogyny since the revelations ofESPN Just under a year ago, Suns owner Robert Sarver was finally given a one-year suspension and a ten million dollar fine following the NBA’s investigation. A sanction that many consider too lenient, LeBron James in the lead.
In 2014, during the Donald Sterling affair, LeBron had already stepped up to say “there was no place in the NBA” for the former owner of the Clippers, finally banned for life by commissionaire Adam Silver for racist remarks. Eight years later, the King has not changed his refrain from the Robert Sarver affair, the difference is that the latter received a much less severe sanction than Sterling at the time. “How can Sarver maintain control of his franchise after the troubling revelations of the investigation? “How can he keep his place in the Big League? “Why isn’t he banned by the NBA like Sterling was in 2014? ». These are the kinds of questions that many are asking, from Suns employees to journalists covering the NBA to League players, including a certain LeBron.
“I’ve read the stories about Sarver many times, I have to be honest… Our league screwed up on that one. I don’t need to explain why. You have all read these stories and you can judge for yourself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is no place in our league for this kind of behavior. I love the league and deeply respect our leadership. But this is not right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism and racism in the workplace. It doesn’t matter if you own the team or play for that team. The league serves as an example to represent our values and there, it does not. »
We know how much the King’s voice carries, we know how much his interventions can weigh. And there’s no doubt that both of LeBron’s tweets reached Adam Silver’s ear.
Another voice that resonates strongly, particularly in this case, is that of Chris Paul. The star point guard of the Phoenix Suns evolves not only in the franchise of Robert Sarver, but we also speak of the former president of the players’ association (who is in constant negotiation with the League and therefore the owners of the franchises). Like LeBron, CP3 took to Twitter to express his incomprehension following the NBA sanction.
“Like many others, I looked at the report. I am horrified and disappointed by what I have read. This behavior, especially towards women, is unacceptable and must never happen again. I am of the opinion that the sanctions taken are insufficient to remedy this type of behavior which we can all consider to be atrocious. I have a great thought for all the people who have been affected. »
Adam Silver’s (unconvincing) press conference
Adam Silver had the opportunity yesterday to justify himself at a press conference dedicated specifically to the Robert Sarver affair. Initially, the commissionaire indicated that he had “access to information that the public does not have” for reasons of confidentiality, and that it allowed him to have “a more global vision of the circumstances surrounding these events”. that we do not necessarily find in the investigation report which is now accessible to everyone online. It is specifically this element which – according to Tonton Adam – makes it possible to differentiate the Sarver affair from the Sterling affair in 2014, where an audio recording including racist remarks had been revealed in broad daylight.
“In the Donald Sterling case, I was in the same position as anyone else. We were all facing the same audio recording. This case [Robert Sarver, ndlr.] is very different. And it’s not because one has been recorded and the other has not. […] What distinguishes the facts of the Sterling case from the facts of the Sarver case is the context. I have greater access to the context than the public, because we have interviewers who can explain what they have learned in more than 300 interviews. In the case of Donald Sterling, we could all make our own judgment. To explain to you why the penalty is different between the Sterling case and the Sarver case, in the case of Sterling we were faced with blatant racist behavior towards a certain group of people. »
Not sure that all this is enough to convince those who believe that there is a double standard between the two cases, and that Sarver would have deserved an equally severe sanction for his behavior. Especially when you take into account the aftermath of Adam Silver’s press conference, where the commissionaire raised eyebrows when journalist Howard Beck (Sports Illustrated) asked him why Robert Sarver can keep his status as owner today when any “average” employee would most likely have been fired for similar behavior.
“There are certain rights that come with owning an NBA team, as opposed to someone who is employed. A one-year suspension and a ten million dollar fine, I don’t know how to measure that against a job. […] I don’t have the power to take away his ownership status, although of course we could start a process to do so. It’s something very complicated, and in the end I felt that we hadn’t reached such a level. But for me, the consequences are severe here regarding Mr. Sarver. »
The very first sentence caused such a stir on social media that NBA spokesman Mike Bass had to come out a statement to clarify Tonton Adam’s remarks, and ensure that franchise owners were “absolutely held to the same standard of behavior as players and employees”. No doubt, we have already known the most inspired League commissioner behind the microphones. And it’s not his words about the fact that Robert Sarver would have “evolved as a person” (while some incidents highlighted in the report date from 2019 and even 2021) since taking office in 2004 and that he would have ” accepted responsibility for his actions” which made things better, quite the contrary. Faced with the many questions and the general misunderstanding surrounding the sanction given to the owner of the Suns, Tonton Adam therefore struggled to convince. Worse, he gave the impression of siding with the billionaire landlords (who, we recall, elected Silver as commish in 2014 through the Board of Governors) when he was expected to take the lead to show the same type of leadership that he has been able to demonstrate in the past, particularly in the Donald Sterling affair.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Adam Silver be unprepared, and I think he missed it. It doesn’t look good on the NBA, this press conference doesn’t look good on the NBA. […] If you’re a player or work for the Suns, how can you come to work knowing that this guy – Robert Sarver – owns the franchise?! »
– Former NBA player and analyst Kendrick Perkins, via NBA Today
Removing owner status from Robert Sarver or pushing him to sell his franchise was obviously never in Adam Silver’s plans. And that is what he is accused of today. For some, this press conference simply represents the worst moment of his career as a League commissioner. Tonton Adam tried to justify himself, he rather sunk.
Source texte : @KingJames, @CP3, ESPN, NBA
behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2022
Like many others, I reviewed the report. I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated.
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 15, 2022