The current owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, Robert Sarver, has recently announced his search to find a buyer for both of his franchises. Confirmed to the public this past Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the 60-year-old businessman claimed how he did not want to be a “distraction” to the organization’s purpose following a year-long suspension and $10 million fine for using a racial slur – representatives from the NBA stated that Sarver used the N-word “at least five times with instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” according to the NBA’s open investigation.
Sarver officially declared his removal from the teams through a formal message to the world: “As a man of faith, I believe in the atonement and the path to forgiveness,” he wrote. “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… 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,” Sarver concluded.