LeBron James says NBA did not go far enough with sanctions against Suns owner

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was likely spared even stronger sanctioning by the NBA for his racist, misogynistic and hostile words and actions because of one key conclusion by investigators, commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday.

The law firm that spent nearly a year digging into the situation determined Sarver's use of slurs "was not motivated by racial animus."

"It was relevant," Silver said after the league's Board of Governors meetings concluded. "I think if they had made findings that, in fact, his conduct was motivated by racial animus, absolutely that would have had an impact on on the ultimate outcome here. But that's not what they found."

And that, to Silver, is one of the key distinctions between the Sarver case and the one surrounding then-Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, when he was banned for life and fined $2.5 million for racist comments.

Some players, Silver said, have reached out to him to voice concerns. Silver said he would keep the details of those conversations private.

But LeBron James — obviously, one of the league's most prominent player voices ever — took his concerns public Wednesday night, tweeting that the NBA did not go far enough with Sarver.

"I gotta be honest...Our league definitely got this wrong," James tweeted to his 52 million followers. "I don't need to explain why. Y'all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I'm gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behaviour.

"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," he wrote.

Suns point guard Chris Paul echoed James' sentiment later Wednesday.

"Like many others, I reviewed the report," Paul wrote on social media. "I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated. ... I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behaviour. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected."

The NBA had the option of giving Sarver a longer ban than the one-year suspension. The $10 million fine was the maximum allowable, as was the case with Sterling's $2.5 million fine eight years ago; NBA rules on maximum fines were changed in 2019.

Another reason Silver, who was the ultimate decider of the penalty in this case, stopped short of suspending Sarver for longer or even banning him: He said he took into account a number of anonymous details that could not be revealed in the investigative report that was published Tuesday, along with other elements of Sarver's actions in his 18 years owning the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

"There were these terrible things," Silver said. "There are also many, many people with very positive things to say about him through this process. And ultimately, I took all of that into account in making the decision that the one-year suspension plus the fine was appropriate."

A 10-month investigation into Sarver's behaviour confirmed he had used racist language, made sexually inappropriate comments, left some employees — male and female — feeling uncomfortable with his words and actions, and took part in what would be considered workplace bullying.