Robert Sarver Agrees To Sell The Suns…But Still Chastises His Critics

I don’t think Mr. Sarver here understands what accountability and redemption actually means. After days of constant outcries for Robert Sarver to sell the Phoenix Suns, the maligned owner has finally agreed to do so but not before chastising those who have criticized him.

First off, let me just say that this was necessary for the NBA. You can’t have a guy whose been found guilty of saying misogynistic, racist, and sexist statements, as well as harboring a toxic work environment for nearly 20 years, stay on as an NBA owner.

From both a moral and corporate viewpoint, Sarver was pariah that needed to be disposed. And I’m glad that everyone in and around the NBA has managed to unite together and force the sale of the Phoenix Suns to take place.

Though what caught my eye out all of today’s news was a few sentences in Robert Sarver’s sale announcement.

Sarver said, “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.”

Is Sarver delusional here or is it just me? What is this “whatever good I have done, or could still do” is he talking about? Does he not realize that he’s been found to have created a hostile, toxic, unforgiving workplace that targeted, harassed, and embarrassed his female employees for the past 20 YEARS!

Anyway, that’s not the main part of his statement that I have an issue with. The main part of this statement that I have an issue with is his warped sense of accountability and redemption.

There was no way that Robert Sarver was going to be able to “right his wrongs” and correct his disgusting behavior by staying on as owner of this team. The very responsibility and power of being an owner was what gave him the license to abuse, harass, and mistreat his employees in the first place.

It’s not about an “unforgiving climate” (in this case, at least) that has brought the end to his ownership. Sarver has done that to himself with his neglect and dereliction of duty to his employees these last 20 years.

Just as you wouldn’t punish a corrupted politician by only taking away his public office for a year, you don’t punish a corrupted owner by only taking away his team for a year. You punish them by banning them permanently.

However, I’m not saying that Sarver should be banished from public life permanently. Actually, just the opposite as this is where his “atonement and the path to forgiveness” should begin.

If Sarver truly feels horrible and guilty for his actions, then he should use some (if not all) of the billions of dollars he will receive from the sale of the Suns towards empowering those he disenfranchised: women and minority groups.

He should promote qualified and capable woman and minority groups in his remaining businesses, create charities and funds for these groups, and just treat them with the respect that they deserve if he actually wants forgiveness from these people and the public as a whole.

Only by lifting up those you have hurt in the past can you ever truly show remorse for your actions and earn redemption.

For the video game fans out there, did Arthur Morgan from the Red Dead Redemption 2 franchise continue to steal, lie, and murder on his path of redemption? No, of course not.

He actively helped those whom he and his gang harmed in the past, even if they still despised him. That’s how he earned redemption.

Thus, the only way for Sarver to “make amends and remove my personal controversy” is to help those he hurt, not continue in the same role that allowed him to hurt in the first place as he wanted.

Images Source: Featured Image: