WTF round up: Blowing the whistle
The GIST: While the championship push continues in women’s hoops, men in the basketball world are fouling out, with a team owner suspended for workplace misconduct and a player facing potential discipline for homophobic comments. That’s right, it’s time for another WTF roundup.
Robert Sarver: The longtime Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner was suspended for one year and fined $10M (the maximum amount) yesterday, after the conclusion of a nearly year-long investigation into allegations of racism and misogyny within the Suns organization.
- That investigation found that Sarver used the N-word at least five times while recounting statements of others, engaged in inequitable conduct toward female employees and made many sex-related comments in the workplace, among other disturbing findings.
- The announcement offers a long-awaited conclusion to an investigation that included 320 current and former employees, but the discipline is a mere slap on the wrist, especially considering the league’s previous punishments for similar (mis)conduct. The math’s simply not mathing.
Anthony Edwards: The NBA is reviewing anti-gay comments the Minnesota Timberwolves guard made in an Instagram video posted over the weekend. Edwards has since apologized for the now-deleted video — in which he uses an anti-gay comment to describe a group of people standing on a sidewalk — but could still face a fine.
- In years past, the league has fined players anywhere from $25K to $100K for using anti-gay language. The ball’s in their court again.
