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Robert Sarver timeline: How we got to Suns owner’s decision to sell

Robert Sarver timeline: How we got to Suns owner's decision to sell

By Yaron Weitzman and Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writers

Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver announced Wednesday that he’s starting the process of selling both teams, possibly soon bringing to a close an uncertain situation that has engulfed the franchises since an ESPN report last November detailed accusations against Sarver of racism and misogyny in the workplace.

“I do not want to be a distraction to these two teams and the fine people who work so hard to bring the joy and excitement of basketball to fans around the world,” Sarver said in a statement. “I want what’s best for these two organizations, the players, the employees, the fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA and the WNBA. This is the best course of action for everyone.”

Sarver’s announcement comes nearly a week after NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA had suspended Sarver for a year and fined him $10 million following the results of a league-commissioned investigation by an independent law firm into the Sarver allegations.

The investigation backed up much of the initial ESPN report and revealed Sarver had not only been presiding over a toxic workplace but that he had often been the cause of that toxicity. In a news conference, however, Silver defended the league’s punishment and told reporters he was unable to ban Sarver from the NBA because he didn’t “have the right to take away his team.”

[Robert Sarver selling Suns: Why Adam Silver was in a no-win situation]

The one-year suspension was met with sharp backlash from fans, players, team sponsors and even a Suns limited owner.

Multiple sources in NBA ownership circles told FOX Sports that they believe the Suns will likely be sold for more than the record-setting $3.3 billion valuation that Joseph Tsai paid in 2019, when he purchased 51 percent of the Brooklyn Nets (he previously owned 49 percent) and their arena, the Barclays Center.

“People have been raising money for this and looking at the Suns since the initial story broke last year,” said a source with strong connections to ownership bids. “That didn’t slow down once the punishment was announced [by Silver]. For people in these circles, this has been the assumed outcome for a while.”

Here’s a timeline of the events that transpired over the past 10 months that have led to this moment.

Sarver and Suns go on the offensive

In October 2021, shortly before the bombshell ESPN report was published but knowing that it was impending, Sarver said in a statement…

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