In comments to Phoenix Suns employees before the team's season-opening win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver apologized multiple times on behalf of the league office for enduring years of workplace misconduct under Suns majority owner Robert Sarver, according to sources who were present.
"I'm incredibly empathetic to what many of you have lived through," Silver said to a group of hundreds of employees, including some team executives and the team's interim governor, Sam Garvin, who all gathered in the lower bowl of the team's arena hours before the game.
During a nearly hour-long address, Silver, sitting on a stool and holding a microphone, said: "To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize. I take responsibility for that."
Silver was later asked about whether he or the league office was aware of issues in the team's workplace under Sarver, who led a group to buy the team in 2004. Silver stated he was not.
"Did I hear ever that Robert could be difficult to deal with? Sure," Silver told employees. "But that's very different than conduct which is viewed as discriminatory in any way."
On Sept. 13, Sarver was suspended one year and fined $10 million after a 10-month NBA investigation, led by New York-based law firm Wachtell Lipton, found Sarver was involved in "instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees," including "sex-related comments" and inappropriate comments on employees' appearances, and used the N-word...
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