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Guard Devin Booker has known Sarver longer than any player as the longest-tenured Suns player after being drafted by the franchise in 2015. So as much as we can do to eliminate it, we should move forward.” I know it’s a deep answer, but that word is problematic. But just because you’re not the source or where it is directed to doesn’t mean you can’t be offended by it. “It means different things to different people. And I just hope we can find a way to eliminate it from the vocabulary in general. But that word is not acceptable anywhere. As much as I can, I try to make sure people understand that it’s not a cultural thing, it’s a people thing. But if it is directed toward anyone, it’s wrong. “Across the board … I can’t accept that,” Jones said. As for Jones, he said he never heard Sarver say the N-word and he doesn’t believe it is acceptable to be said anywhere. Williams said that to his chagrin that it has been often found acceptable in the younger generation to say the N-word. There was a range of emotions and state of mind that you deal with.” Related Story Robert Sarver is a problem bigger than the NBA wants to handle Read now “Just thinking of them living in this world where those kinds of things still happen, that bothered me,” Williams said. Sarver’s use of the N-word and the racist state of the world today has Williams concerned about his family. The 2022 NBA Coach of the Year is married to a white woman and has a stepson and five Black children of his own. Williams has been openly talked about fighting against racism that he has seen and dealt with since his youth in Virginia.
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And when you read the report, you read the bullet points and you see it over and over again in that way, it bothers you.” “And when I saw the report, I was not happy about it, quite frankly, disgusted. I learned how demeaning it was toward humanity, not just Black folks,” Williams said. Especially when I was younger, and I learned what that word meant. While Suns All-Star Chris Paul, Jones and Williams say they never heard Sarver say the N-word, the revelation of his use of the word disgusted Jones and Williams. General manager James Jones, coach Monty Williams and new assistant general manager Morgan Cato are African American. The NBA is predominantly Black, as are key members of the Suns. … But at the same time, I’m not insensitive to everyone involved in this situation.” Guard Devin Booker (right) said, “That is not the Robert Sarver I know. Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams (left) said, “when I saw the report, I was not happy about it, quite frankly, disgusted” by the NBA’s findings about team owner Robert Sarver. “Hearing all those stories with all the folks and employees that had their encounter with him … ,” Ayton said. Sarver revealed plans to sell the Suns and Mercury last week.Īyton said what pained him most was how Suns and Mercury employees have been wrongly affected by Sarver’s actions. The NBA suspended the owner of the Suns and WNBA Phoenix Mercury for one year and fined him $10 million after its investigation revealed that he used the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others.” Sarver also was involved in “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” including “sex-related comments” and inappropriate comments on employees’ appearances.
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Ayton also was much more businesslike than his usual jovial self after the Suns opted to match a four-year, $133 million extension he signed with the Indiana Pacers rather than ink him to a more lucrative five-year deal in the offseason.īut it was the team’s first public reaction to the news that an NBA investigation recently revealed racism, sexism, and misogyny from Sarver during his 17 years as team owner that dampened the mood during Suns media day. The Suns and disgruntled vet Jae Crowder mutually agreed that he not attend training camp as they look for a trade.
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Other factors contribute to the noise: The Suns went from going to the 2021 NBA Finals to being upset as a top-seed in a deciding Game 7 to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of last season’s playoffs. “We have to figure it out before the first jump ball. I don’t know what is in between the lines,” Suns center Deandre Ayton told Andscape during media day at Events On Jackson. “It’s cloudy right now, to tell you the truth. PHOENIX – The revealed racist, sexist and misogynistic acts of team owner Robert Sarver have put a dark cloud over the Phoenix Suns that has deeply affected the players, coaches and general manager.
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