Written by The owner of the Phoenix Mercury and Phoenix Suns was suspended and fined by the NBA. For 17 years, the toxic culture prevailed. All personnel in both organizations were impacted by Robert Sarver’s toxic leadership and culture for 17 years. Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10 million. Was this an appropriate suspension? Should the suspension have been lighter or harder?
Sarver has been at the helm of the organization for 17 years. 17 years impacting many employees under his charge. If there were 10 employees at any given time that were adversely impacted by his toxic leadership and culture, that would mean that he impacted employees for over 62,000 days. And we are only counting a minimal amount of people only during their time with the company and does not include an impact time after they left the organization.
The third party investigation interviewed over 320 current and former employees and there were probably at least hundreds more that could have been interviewed who probably would have had similar stories. Think of the amount of days he truly probably adversely impacted people’s lives over the last 17 years…it is probably hundreds of thousands of days of people’s lived. As you think about these numbers, do you believe that a one year suspension was fair?
Sarver probably makes considerably more that $10 million a year. So while $10 million may seem like a lot of money to a lot of people, he will probably still make a lot of money during his year long suspension. And is this $10 million coming out of Sarver’s personal account or will it come from both the Mercury and Suns? If it comes out of those organizations, it will probably lead to lower pay for employees or reduction in staff with the remaining staff taking on additional responsibilities. Another thing to think about is how Sarver’s toxic culture created a financial impact on the employees who chose to leave the company without another job lined up, or the short or long term mental, physical, and emotional health of the employees. Do you believe that $10 million is an adequate amount of a penalty for the 17 years of toxic leadership?
Sarver stated that he accepts the “consequences of the NBA’s decision. This moment is an opportunity for me to demonstrate a capacity to learn and grow as we continue to build a working culture where every employee feels comfortable and valued“. Is this a factual statement? Do you believe that after 17 years of toxicity, Sarver can so quickly change and will truly follow through?
The Phoenix Suns also stated that they are “committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment.” Have the Suns been committed to this for the past 17 years or just starting today? Since Sarver is the owner of the organization, will there be positive change for the next year or when he returns?
The answers to these questions are different for each person. The length of the suspension and the fine he had to pay are also things to think about. But regardless of what those of us who were never in the Suns and Mercury organizations believe in this situation, it cannot be denied that he impacted hundreds, if not thousands of people. This impact can be mental, physical, and emotional, and also short and long term. We did not have to live it ourselves. Each employee or former employee did have to live through it and were impacted by it…some will be impacted by it for the rest of their lives.