One day after NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended his decision to suspend Suns and Mercury governor Robert Sarver, his interim replacement has been approved. According to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, vice chairman and minority owner Sam Garvin will fill the void, with Silver approving the plan Wednesday evening.
Sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver authorized Sam Garvin, the team's alternate governor, to be the Suns' interim governor, effective immediately, on Wednesday evening. https://t.co/GNxub75ESL
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) September 15, 2022
Garvin has been a member of the Suns’ ownership group since 2004. Also of note here is that he was one of the members of the ownership group that voiced its support for Sarver when the allegations first came to light in November 2021.
Garvin represented Suns at BOG meetings. He was among Suns owners who signed a letter in 2021 supporting Sarver. It said: "To a person, we dispute the characterization of Mr. Sarver and the organization as racist and sexist. We support Mr. Sarver’s leadership and stand with him." https://t.co/K6UMQlwJdU
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) September 15, 2022
In the statement, members of the Suns’ ownership group stated, “we join Mr. Sarver in welcoming Commissioner Silver’s investigation of the allegations presented by ESPN, and will fully cooperate in the investigation and any suggestions the league may have.”
Silver confirmed Wednesday that Sarver would be suspended for one year and fined $10 million. And there has no shortage of opinions that the punishment was too lenient. Among those who have spoken out are Suns point guard Chris Paul, LeBron James, NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio, and some unidentified Suns employees who also voiced their frustration.
It will be interesting to see if Silver revisits the punishment handed down at some point soon or the next year. And it would not come as a surprise if this situation, and how punishment for team governors differs from that of players, was brought up during collective bargaining agreement conversations.
Regarding the reaction to commissioner Adam Silver's comments today about team owners having different rights than employees, NBA spokesman Mike Bass offered this clarification: pic.twitter.com/xT8LyAejev
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 15, 2022
The current collective bargaining agreement will expire after the 2023-24 season.
