[VeggieDog]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...lace-standards


Full Title: Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver suspended, fined $10 million after investigation finds conduct 'clearly violated' workplace standards



Robert Sarver, the Phoenix Suns' majority owner since 2004, is being suspended for one year and fined $10 million, the NBA announced Tuesday, marking an end to the league's nearly yearlong investigation into Sarver's conduct and the culture inside the Suns organization.


The league's investigation came after ESPN published a November 2021 story, based on interviews with more than 70 current and former employees, that included allegations of racism and misogyny in a sometimes hostile and toxic workplace in Phoenix during Sarver's tenure.


(More at the Link.)

[jjgold]

Love these stories hilarious cancel culture bs

[KVB]

Yeah, but does he do this in the office?

[pologq]

• On at least five occasions "repeated the N-word when recounting the statements of others."
  
• "Engaged in instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees, made many sex-related comments in the workplace, made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women, and on several occasions engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees."
  
• "Engaged in demeaning and harsh treatment of employees, including by yelling and cursing at them."

[VeggieDog]

[stevek173]

Yeah, but does he do this in the office?

Everyone should be doing this at the office!

[juicername]

Did he grab them by the pussy?

[IBetYou]

Director of the player's association demanding a lifetime ban. I hate these people that speak for the few while pretending to speak for many. I expect the majority of players don't give a shit and are enjoying the last days of their off-season. Complain culture...

[VeggieDog]

Just announced he's gonna sell both the Suns and Mercury.

[pologq]

i am sure he got pressured to do so

[VeggieDog]

i am sure he got pressured to do so

No doubt.

[JMUplayer]

Anyone have a list of all the owners of suns and their percentages?

[stevenash]

^
Forbes says the Suns are worth 1.8 billion, and Sarver owns 1/3 of the team.
He's the primary owner, but not the sole owner.

[VeggieDog]

^
Forbes says the Suns are worth 1.8 billion, and Sarver owns 1/3 of the team.
He's the primary owner, but not the sole owner.

Is the Mercury in negative value?

[stevenash]

Is the Mercury in negative value?

The WNBA is worth an estimated one billion dollars, Mercury is worth 300 million.
(Source:Forbes)

[IBetYou]

i am sure he got pressured to do so

LeBron demanding it then pretty much gloating about it after it happened. What a POS... His antenna goes up when he can get a rich white person to lose their standing. Just shut up and take your win pfft

[VeggieDog]

The WNBA is worth an estimated one billion dollars, Mercury is worth 300 million.
(Source:Forbes)

Friendly question: Do you have a link to the $300 million value for the Mercury? I couldn't find it. I found another article, not Forbes, that says the value of a WNBA team is about $43 million.

[TheMoneyShot]

Funny how no one talks about former L.A. Clippers owner... and the issues he had. If it also happened to the Suns owner.... or part owner... it's happening everywhere. These are big shots... and big shots run their mouths... they do it because they can. If it's happening here... it's happening everywhere.

[stevenash]

Friendly question: Do you have a link to the $300 million value for the Mercury? I couldn't find it. I found another article, not Forbes, that says the value of a WNBA team is about $43 million.

Yeah.
Cut and paste OK?
I got in from The Athletic (need a subscription to read that) they quoted Forbes.
Now I am going to apologize in advance if I misquoted that piece, I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again, but I think my OP was accurate.

Give me a few to dig that story up.

All good, I don't mind being called out on what I posted.
Let me 2x.

[IBetYou]

Funny how no one talks about former L.A. Clippers owner... and the issues he had. If it also happened to the Suns owner.... or part owner... it's happening everywhere. These are big shots... and big shots run their mouths... they do it because they can. If it's happening here... it's happening everywhere.

What do you mean nobody talks about it? LOL they're only making a move about it...

Lawrence Fishburne is playing Rivers I think.

[IBetYou]

Whatever the Mercury are worth it's based on the proposition that the WNBA will become something special in the future -certainly not making any money now. NBA teams were also cheap once upon a time.

They need more hotties from Europe to enter the league, like Julie Allemand and Marianne Johannes -more players like that and they can start putting out a schedule that runs during the proper club season months.

[stevenash]

Friendly question: Do you have a link to the $300 million value for the Mercury? I couldn't find it. I found another article, not Forbes, that says the value of a WNBA team is about $43 million.

In the next few months, the most talked about issue in the WNBA should finally have some clarity.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told The Athletic she hopes to identify one or two cities for an expansion franchise by the start of the WNBA playoffs in September or by year’s end at the latest. Those new teams could begin to play as early as the 2024 season, she said. This would be the first time the league has added an expansion team since the Atlanta Dream were founded in 2008.

When the new team, or teams, enter the WNBA, it will mark the long-awaited end to a process that has already reached critical mass. The Athletic spoke to more than 20 people in and around the WNBA with knowledge of league expansion and its financial picture to learn more about the league’s plans. It is an attempt to not only suss out which cities have a chance to become a future WNBA outpost, but also to understand how much a franchise is worth in a league where team values are hard to ascertain.
The WNBA has whittled its list to 10 to 12 cities, Engelbert said, after it began with 100 possible locations for its new franchises. In order to identify the most viable places for a WNBA expansion team, the league will consider a number of priorities and categories and will run each city through 25 data points within five categories: demographics, psychographics (market research or statistics classifying population groups according to psychological variables), sports benchmarks, viewership and fan data.
For example, a city’s population, political affiliation and policies, and generational demographics will be factors, Engelbert said, as the league knows it already skews to young and female fans.
“There’s no crisp or clear formula, but you see cities that rise to the top pretty quickly,” Engelbert said. “And we’re also looking at our current WNBA franchise cities and comparing what lessons we’ve learned and what’s worked and not worked over the last 25 years. We really want to set up new owners for success.”
Engelbert estimates an 18- to 24-month timeline from the identification of a new team to its inaugural season. She said the timeline would be determined by “whether the city has the arena and can get these contracts done and get season-ticket holders sold and corporate sponsors.”

Expansion has been the hot-button issue of the WNBA through the entirety of Engelbert’s tenure as commissioner. With a maximum of 144 roster spots, and with the league carrying closer to 137 players because of salary cap restrictions, spots are at a premium — lottery picks have been cut in their first season, beloved veterans who’ve played years in the league have been quietly waived during training camp and never played another minute. That has elicited demands from players for more roster space across the league.
Engelbert’s primary responsibility through the first three years of her tenure has been to transform the WNBA’s economics. She has done so by bringing in new investors and partners, expanding media partnerships and a $75 million capital raise announced in February.
The capital raise valued the league at $475 million, according to multiple sources, and the WNBA gave away roughly 16 percent equity in itself to investors as a result of that process. WNBA owners now own 42 percent of the league following the raise, while NBA owners hold the other 42 percent share — previously they had a 50/50 split — with the new investors owning the rest.
Engelbert said that number does not account for the full value of the WNBA, only the league itself. She told The Athletic that the value of the WNBA’s 12 individual teams plus the league itself is worth over $1 billion. Though that method of valuation is unusual in comparison to how other professional sports leagues conduct their valuations, it also places the average value of a WNBA team at more than $43.75 million.

[batt33]

In the next few months, the most talked about issue in the WNBA should finally have some clarity.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told The Athletic she hopes to identify one or two cities for an expansion franchise by the start of the WNBA playoffs in September or by year’s end at the latest. Those new teams could begin to play as early as the 2024 season, she said. This would be the first time the league has added an expansion team since the Atlanta Dream were founded in 2008.

When the new team, or teams, enter the WNBA, it will mark the long-awaited end to a process that has already reached critical mass. The Athletic spoke to more than 20 people in and around the WNBA with knowledge of league expansion and its financial picture to learn more about the league’s plans. It is an attempt to not only suss out which cities have a chance to become a future WNBA outpost, but also to understand how much a franchise is worth in a league where team values are hard to ascertain.
The WNBA has whittled its list to 10 to 12 cities, Engelbert said, after it began with 100 possible locations for its new franchises. In order to identify the most viable places for a WNBA expansion team, the league will consider a number of priorities and categories and will run each city through 25 data points within five categories: demographics, psychographics (market research or statistics classifying population groups according to psychological variables), sports benchmarks, viewership and fan data.
For example, a city’s population, political affiliation and policies, and generational demographics will be factors, Engelbert said, as the league knows it already skews to young and female fans.
“There’s no crisp or clear formula, but you see cities that rise to the top pretty quickly,” Engelbert said. “And we’re also looking at our current WNBA franchise cities and comparing what lessons we’ve learned and what’s worked and not worked over the last 25 years. We really want to set up new owners for success.”
Engelbert estimates an 18- to 24-month timeline from the identification of a new team to its inaugural season. She said the timeline would be determined by “whether the city has the arena and can get these contracts done and get season-ticket holders sold and corporate sponsors.”

Expansion has been the hot-button issue of the WNBA through the entirety of Engelbert’s tenure as commissioner. With a maximum of 144 roster spots, and with the league carrying closer to 137 players because of salary cap restrictions, spots are at a premium — lottery picks have been cut in their first season, beloved veterans who’ve played years in the league have been quietly waived during training camp and never played another minute. That has elicited demands from players for more roster space across the league.
Engelbert’s primary responsibility through the first three years of her tenure has been to transform the WNBA’s economics. She has done so by bringing in new investors and partners, expanding media partnerships and a $75 million capital raise announced in February.
The capital raise valued the league at $475 million, according to multiple sources, and the WNBA gave away roughly 16 percent equity in itself to investors as a result of that process. WNBA owners now own 42 percent of the league following the raise, while NBA owners hold the other 42 percent share — previously they had a 50/50 split — with the new investors owning the rest.
Engelbert said that number does not account for the full value of the WNBA, only the league itself. She told The Athletic that the value of the WNBA’s 12 individual teams plus the league itself is worth over $1 billion. Though that method of valuation is unusual in comparison to how other professional sports leagues conduct their valuations, it also places the average value of a WNBA team at more than $43.75 million.

what is WNBA? is that a sport?

[stevenash]

The WNBA is worth an estimated one billion dollars, Mercury is worth 300 million.
(Source:Forbes)

My bad, Mercury is worth 30 million, not 300.

[VeggieDog]

My bad, Mercury is worth 30 million, not 300.

That makes more sense. Thanks for checking it.

[stevenash]

That makes more sense. Thanks for checking it.

Not a problem, you too.

[play4win]

suspend? what deos that mean. he dont have to have watch his suck team every home game. thats reward

[batt33]

Meh whats a hundred bucks to him....WNBA "why no blacks appreciate "

[batt33]

WNBA..... Why does nobody believes Anachronism?

[Enkhbat]

So cancel culture got him. So who buys the Suns now? Charles Barkley?

[lakerboy]

He only did that out loud part that all others do under their breath.

[batt33]

what nobody believes aberration

[batt33]

what nobody believes anyway?

[stevenash]

So who buys the Suns now? Charles Barkley?

Nope.

I buy them.
I'm Steve Nash bitch.

(joking)

[Mac4Lyfe]

• On at least five occasions "repeated the N-word when recounting the statements of others."
• "Engaged in instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees, made many sex-related comments in the workplace, made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women, and on several occasions engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees."
• "Engaged in demeaning and harsh treatment of employees, including by yelling and cursing at them."

I don't see much wrong with repeating what other people had said, even if it was the N word. I guess it depends on the situation but this seems pretty petty to me. Saying the N-word 5 times over many years is not even newsworthy.

Then to say inequitable conduct towards female employees but then to say inappropriate conduct toward male employees? That doesn't sound inequitable. He probably pissed on all the employees. That happens, maybe he needs counseling but lose a franchise? Overkill much??

Maybe it's just me but these allegations are not very alarming to me. This is how many doctors treat their workers. I'm not condoning it but these allegations sound petty.