While Congress presses the Washington Football Team to release former employees from their nondisclosure agreements, the Phoenix Suns have released former employees from their NDAs.

This is a significant development in the NBA’s probe into whether Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver used a racial epithet in conversation. He’s also accused of uttering lewd comments about women and directing a workplace where employees feared retaliation. Sarver unequivocally denies the claims, which, at the discretion of NBA commissioner Adam Silver, could eventually lead to fines or suspensions. The league retained the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate.

NDAs have become routine conditions of employment and severance in many industries. They typically appear in contracts and workplace handbooks, and forbid current and former employees from disclosing trade secrets and other proprietary information.

NDAs are common in the NBA given teams’ emphasis on analytics, playbooks, scouting reports, biometric measurements, player health records and other sensitive material that could advantage rivals. One recurring criticism of NDAs—as explored in Sportico’s book review of Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control our Lives by Michael Heller and James Salzman—is their sometimes excessive reach. Former employees often conclude it’s better to say nothing than to test an NDA’s boundaries.

To that point, an employer can sue a former employee for breach of contract and demand...

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