LeBron James and Chris Paul slam Robert Sarver’s punishment
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LeBron James and Chris Paul were among the many athletes in the sports community that criticized the decision handed down to Robert Sarver.
Here is everything you need to know.
LeBron James and Chris Paul react to Robert Sarver’s decision
The NBA’s punished Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver for his alleged racist and sexist behavior by fining and suspending him. However, the decision is not sitting well with some of the biggest stars in the league.
LeBron James took to his Twitter handle to call out the league for not banning Sarver for his inappropriate misconduct.
He wrote, ‘I gotta be honest. Our league definitely got this wrong. 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 behavior.’
Like many others, I reviewed the report. I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated.
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 15, 2022Advertisement
The Los Angeles Lakers forward continued, ‘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 workplace.’
The 37-year-old basketball player noted, ‘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 ain’t it.’
Furthermore, Suns all-star point guard Chris Paul also shared his displeasure over the mild sanctions given to Sarver.
He said, ‘I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated.’
The former president of the NBA Players’ Association added, ‘I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior.’
Read through the Sarver stories a few times now. I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. 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
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2022Advertisement
More about Robert Sarver’s investigation
An independent investigation was conducted on Robert Sarver after it was reported that he engaged in hostile, racially insensitive, and inappropriate behavior toward his subordinates.
ESPN released an article in November 2021 detailing Sarver’s attitude. They wrote that Sarver had ‘on at least five occasions during his tenure with the Suns/Mercury organization, repeated the N-word when recounting the statements of others.’
Moreover, they claimed that he ‘engaged in instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees. He made many sex-related comments in the workplace and made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women. On several occasions engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees.’
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the NBA announced that Sarver would be fined $10 million and will face a one-year suspension for his misconduct.
