Suns, Mercury Owner Robert Sarver Announces He Is Starting Process To Sell Both Franchises

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver announced in a statement Wednesday morning that he has started the process to sell both the Suns and the Phoenix Mercury. This move comes after Sarver was suspended for a year and fined $10 million by the NBA following the completion of an investigation into his inappropriate workplace misconduct.

Per Sarver’s statement:

"Words that I deeply regret now overshadow nearly two decades of building organizations that brought people together – and strengthened the Phoenix area – through the unifying power of professional men's and women's basketball. 

As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness. I expected that the commissioner's one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love.

But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past. For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury."

Among the findings of that investigation, the league found that Sarver used the N-word on multiple occasions when retelling comments made by Black people even after being told not to, made "sex-related comments" about female employees, and created a work environment that was inequitable toward female employees.