On Friday, NBA team Phoenix Suns released a statement denying claims of racism, sexism, and sexual harassment against its owner Robert Sarver.
“This story is completely outrageous and false,” Suns CEO and President Jason Rowley said in a statement released by the team. “It doesn’t represent – at all – the Robert Sarver I’ve worked alongside of for 15 years. He’s not a racist and he’s not a sexist.”
The team responded quickly to a statement made by NBA podcast host Jordan Schultz, who went on Twitter to say that the league was preparing for a story that accused Sarver of “racism, sexism, and sexual harassment in a series of incidents,” Complex reported.
“Breaking: The NBA is preparing for a massive story accusing #Suns owner Robert Sarver of racism, sexism and sexual harassment in a series of incidents, sources say,” he wrote. With enough evidence to support such claims, there’s a real chance the league would forcibly remove Sarver.”
Sarver has also denied the allegations and said he was “wholly shocked” by them.
“I am wholly shocked by some of the allegations purported by ESPN about me, personally, or about the Phoenix Suns and Mercury organizations,” he said. “While I can’t begin to know how to respond to some of the vague suggestions made by mostly anonymous voices, I can certainly tell you that some of the claims I find completely repugnant to my nature and to the character of the Suns/Mercury workplace and I can tell you they never, ever happened.”
The claims could cause Sarver to lose his position with the team. He purchased the Suns in 2004.
