In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on "NBA Today," NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, confirming that she was speaking on behalf of NBA players, said that Suns owner Robert Sarver should be banned from the league for life, writes ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Sarver received a one-year suspension and was fined $10M for workplace misconduct, including racist and misogynistic comments.
“We are absolutely calling for that [lifetime ban],” Tremaglio said. “We do not want him to be in a position where he is managing or engaging with individuals who are engaging with our players or the players themselves. We are absolutely clear from the findings that are in the report that we do not want him to be in that position.”
“It is our players’ desire that while we understand that there has been a thorough investigation and while we’re very pleased that the NBA was able to follow through on that — because that’s clearly something that we want to see happen — we also want to make it very clear that we do not want him to be back in a position where he will be impacting our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis,” Tremaglio said.
Tremaglio also confirmed to ESPN her previous tweet stating that she’d spoken to commissioner Adam Silver about the NBPA’s stance that Sarver should never hold a managerial position again, but wasn’t sure how open Silver was to changing his mind, despite increasing pressure from minority owners, sponsors and stars like Lakers forward LeBron James and Suns guard Chris Paul.
Andrews asked Tremaglio if the players were considering boycotting games in the wake of the report and subsequent suspension, but she said there had been no discussions on the matter yet, noting that players are focused on the upcoming season. However, she reiterated that “our players are incredibly upset” about the news.
“Their hearts go out to the families and all of the individuals who have actually had to endure this for such a long period of time. But, at the same time, they recognize that they have a job to do and they are really excited about moving forward with the season,” Tremaglio said.
“Quite frankly, I know that we never want our players to be in a position where they are unsafe or individuals that they are around are unsafe. Mr. Sarver had the ability to set the tone at the top. And for us to have individuals that are in a leadership role impacting the game in that way is detrimental to the success of our players and the safety of our players and that will not be tolerated,” Tremaglio added.
As ESPN’s Zach Lowe noted in an earlier appearance on "NBA Today," a lifetime ban for Sarver is not the same as forcing him to sell the team. According to Lowe, it’s legally possible that Sarver could retain ownership of the team but be barred from participating in all other aspects of Phoenix’s operations, even if that would be an unprecedented and seemingly untenable situation. Also, 75% of the league’s owners would have to vote Sarver out to force him to sell, but that seems unlikely because of a potential lawsuit, Lowe added.
More must-reads: