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First it was Jamal Crawford.
Then LeBron James.
Now Chris Paul has taken to Twitter to express his disappointment and frustration regarding the results of the Robert Sarver investigation.
“Like many others, I reviewed the report,” Paul tweeted Wednesday night. “I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read. This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated.
“I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.”
Sarver, majority owner of the Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has been suspended for one year from any activities involving both teams and fined $10 million for “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies” found during an NBA investigation.
The league announced the results of the investigation Tuesday morning and Sarver’s punishment. The $10 million fine is the maximum amount allowed under the NBA constitution and by-laws.
Somers: The NBA should have taken the Suns away from Robert Sarver
Paul will enter his third season with the Suns after he and fellow All-Star Devin Booker led Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals and the league’s best record in the 2021-22 season.
Having been president of the National Basketball Players Association for eight years, the veteran point guard has a powerful voice in the league.
Although he hasn’t spoken publicly about the investigation, Paul’s tweet clearly shows he’s unhappy with the findings of the investigation that was headed by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
This is the same New York law firm that handled the Donald Sterling investigation, which ended with the former Clippers owner being banned from the NBA for life in 2014.
Players union:NBPA calls out Sarver’s ‘actions and conduct’ from NBA’s investigation
Paul expressed issues with Sarver’s treatment of women. While the first key findings the league announced centered around Sarver using the N-word multiple times during his 18-year tenure as Suns team owner, he was found to have made inappropriate comments towards women in the workplace:
“Sarver engaged in instances of inequitable conduct towards 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 towards male employees.”
A Nov. 4 ESPN report detailing how Sarver created a “toxic” work environment led to the NBA launching an investigation.
James, a dear friend of Paul’s, tweeted how he felt about the investigation results.
“Read through the Sarver stories a few times now,” James tweeted earlier on Wednesday. “I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. I don’t need to explain why. Y’all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I’m gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behavior.”
Like Paul, James, who has perhaps the biggest platform of anyone in sports, used two tweets to express his concerns.
“I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right,” James tweeted. “There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any workplace. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.”
More: Phoenix leaders silent on Suns owner Robert Sarver’s fine, NBA suspension
While both Paul and James spoke out, neither said the 60-year-old Sarver should be removed as team owner. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed that issue in a news conference on Wednesday in New York after a Board of Governors meeting.
“I don’t have the right to take away his team,” Silver said. “I don’t want to rest on that legal point because of course there could be a process to take away someone’s team in this league. It’s very involved, and I ultimately made the decision that it didn’t rise to that level.”
Now what:Next steps for Suns following conclusion of Sarver investigation
Crawford, who played one season in Phoenix in 2018-19, was one of the first athletes to tweet in response to the NBA announcing the results of the 10-month investigation.
The retired NBA player tweeted “Sterling 2.0” and “seen this movie before.”
Paul and Crawford were both on the 2013-14 Clippers that threatened to miss playoff games before Silver banned Sterling for life.
Have an opinion about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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