NBA considered suspending Sarver for more than 1 year

NEW YORK — 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.” Had that not been the case, Silver indicated, Sarver’s punishment — a one-year suspension and $10 million fine — would have been far more severe. 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 behavior 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. The report said Sarver “repeated or purported to repeat the N-word on at least five occasions spanning his tenure with the Suns.” “However, the investigation does not find that Sarver’s conduct in any of these instances was motivated by racial animus,” the report read, adding that investigators made “no finding that Sarver used this racially insensitive language with the intent to demean or denigrate.” The Sterling investigation — from when the audio tapes of him making racist remarks to a girlfriend were released, to Silver’s announcement of the lifetime ban — took three days. In 1993, then-Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was fined $25,000 and suspended one year for making “racially and ethnically offensive remarks.” And last year, the NFL fined the Washington Commanders $10 million, plus investigative fees, after a probe found the team’s workplace environment for women was, in the words of Commissioner Roger Goodell, “highly unprofessional” — but stopped short of suspending owner Daniel Snyder.