Rowley noted that Sam Garvin, a minority owner who was originally part of the ownership group Sarver led to buy the team in 2004, would remain the team’s interim manager as the sale process begins, giving him control over all management decisions. for the organization. these sources said. Rowley also said Sarver, under the terms of his recent one-year suspension from the NBA, would not have any interaction or relationship with anyone in the organization and would not attend games, visit the team’s practice or its workplace . Sarver was suspended for a year and fined $10 million last week after an NBA investigation found he used the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others.” 2 Related Sarver also engaged in “instances of unequal treatment of female employees,” including “sex-related comments” and inappropriate comments about employees’ appearances, the NBA said in its statement. Rowley told staff it was important for the organization to “acknowledge some mistakes” it had made in the past and apologized to any current or former staff who had “an unpleasant experience” there. “Leadership starts at the top,” he added, in part. Sarver’s impending absence provided the team with “clarity” and that questions about Sarver’s role moving forward — “the elephant in the room” — were behind the team, Rowley said. But Rowley also answered pointed questions from staff that had previously been put through the team’s human resources department. The first question focused on whether there would be punishment for organizational leaders who some staff believed had contributed to years of workplace misconduct. Rowley, who has been with the Suns organization since 2007-08, said there were elements — without naming specifics — in the NBA’s investigative report that the team will review and take “corrective actions” where necessary. Rowley addressed a question about the steps the organization was taking to ensure it had more women, people of color and women of color in specific leadership positions. Rowley cited recent efforts the organization had made and said they had hired a “diversity, equity and inclusion leader” who would help further. Rowley also addressed a question, said to have been raised by multiple employees, about why the agency has not specifically addressed the allegations after he quickly stood by Sarver when the allegations first surfaced. Rowley was referring to the team’s soon-to-be-released statement, which was shared with staff before it was made public. He also said that he, a member of the executive team, was addressing them on Wednesday that there had been past incidents that were “not consistent with our values” and that the team needed to take steps to correct. The NBA commissioned its investigation following an ESPN story in November 2021 detailing allegations of racism and misogyny during Sarver’s 17 years as owner. In that story, multiple current and former employees told ESPN about the behavior of other members of the Suns leadership team that they felt contributed to a toxic and sometimes hostile work environment. Although no one said that Sarver was involved in these incidents, many felt that Sarver’s behavior contributed to a culture that affected the way some other managers within the organization treated their employees. On Wednesday, several current and former executives called for some leaders to be held accountable. One of the staff involved in the investigation said: “I am relieved, I am overjoyed, I am empowered and motivated to continue to ensure that all the men in this organization who are still in power who supported this culture are uprooted.”
