Anti-Black racial slurs. Lewd comments. Public humiliation of Black and women workers. ESPN’s investigative report alleges that not only has Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner, Robert Sarver, directly and repeatedly engaged in discriminatory actions, but has fostered a hostile and abusive work environment for Black and women workers.

It is clear that the NBA’s racial disparities point to deeper systemic issues and they must be addressed. This is the second time in less than a decade that an NBA owner has been revealed to routinely carry out abusive and discriminatory behaviors. This kind of behavior is particularly disturbing considering the fact that the NBA’s workforce remains overwhelmingly Black, while 87% of the league’s majority owners are white with Michael Jordan as the league’s only Black owner.

Sarver must be held accountable. But, racial justice isn’t achieved just by holding one individual accountable. The NBA is long overdue for its reckoning with racism; that’s why we’re calling on the NBA to do more. Join us in demanding that the NBA permanently ban Robert Sarver from the league, forcibly remove Sarver as the owner of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, and conduct a comprehensive racial equity audit for the NBA and all 30 teams.

Here is the Petition:

To Adam Silver:

NBA players have been some of the most outspoken athletes on racial justice issues. As a league that has prided itself on supporting and uplifting those athletes’ calls for justice, the NBA has a responsibility to fully commit to addressing the racial injustice within the league itself.

The allegations against Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner, Robert Sarver, and his staff are serious, and would be fireable offenses in any other workplace. His repeated use of anti-Black racial slurs and other discriminatory language his fostering a plantation-type environment by saying things like  "Do I own you? to his workers;” his lewd comments in all-staff meetings discussing his sexual relations; any one of these behaviors is a gross abuse worthy of being fired. But Sarver has done them all. 

Sarver’s actions merit a swift and comprehensive response. But accountability does not end with this one individual. The NBA must address the deeper racial disparities that permeate across the league. We demand the NBA: (1) permanently ban Robert Sarver from the league, (2) forcibly remove Sarver as the owner of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, and (3) conduct a racial equity audit for the NBA and all 30 of its teams.