Robert Sarver is in Big Trouble (ANNOUNCES SALE PROCESS)

[Cheesebeef]

50+ people interviewed but who knows how many have seen or heard anything inappropriate. It sounds trumped up.

I want Sarver out, I can't say that enough. I wished Ayton would bang his wife in the other thread and was only partially joking when I said that. That doesn't mean I want to see him fall as a result of a witch hunt.

Based on what do you think this is trumped up? I literally have no idea what to think because we literally don’t know anything except “it’s supposed to be huge” and there’s a lot of people on the record. Without knowing what they’re saying about whatever’s huge, it weird to jump to either conclusion that he’s def gone or this is BS. For me anyway.

 

[Mainstreet]

50+ people interviewed but who knows how many have seen or heard anything inappropriate. It sounds trumped up.

I want Sarver out, I can't say that enough. I wished Ayton would bang his wife in the other thread and was only partially joking when I said that. That doesn't mean I want to see him fall as a result of a witch hunt.

I'm willing to accept the facts wherever they lead but I believe in due process and the right to face accusers. At this point we really don't know.

We agree no one should fall as the result of someone throwing mud at a wall and hoping some of it sticks if the accusations are unfounded.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think this idea that it would be ESPN going after Sarver is being overblown. It's entirely possible an employee of ESPN, like Amin, who has a bias against Sarved could be preparing a hit piece on Sarver. That doesn't mean ESPN is after Sarver. It's just an ESPN reporter using his access for his own motivations. Will ESPN publish it? Possibly but again that doesn't mean they've focused their efforts on taking anyone down.

It's possible it's more than that. It's incredibly vague right now and not enough info is available to assume whether this is a concentrated effort to take Sarver down by any media conglomerate or if it's a reporter with a grudge. I'm leaning towards the latter because if it were a huge piece with piles of evidence then something would have slipped out by this point.

Clearly I'm no Amin fan and I'd be surprised if he isn't a part of this in some way, but I don't think ESPN would run with it if he were behind it. I'm pretty sure their parting wasn't all that friendly. If ESPN does run this story, I'd have to believe there's a lot to it.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think this idea that it would be ESPN going after Sarver is being overblown. It's entirely possible an employee of ESPN, like Amin, who has a bias against Sarved could be preparing a hit piece on Sarver. That doesn't mean ESPN is after Sarver. It's just an ESPN reporter using his access for his own motivations. Will ESPN publish it? Possibly but again that doesn't mean they've focused their efforts on taking anyone down.

It's possible it's more than that. It's incredibly vague right now and not enough info is available to assume whether this is a concentrated effort to take Sarver down by any media conglomerate or if it's a reporter with a grudge. I'm leaning towards the latter because if it were a huge piece with piles of evidence then something would have slipped out by this point.

The concept that a former employee (Amin) would be salty whenever talking about Sarver for over a decade I can accept. The concept of him carrying a vendetta to bring Sarver down over a decade later seems far fetched. Particularly when that former employee landed pretty well on his feet professionally.

 

[Hoop Head]

Based on what do you think this is trumped up? I literally have no idea what to think because we literally don’t know anything except “it’s supposed to be huge” and there’s a lot of people on the record. Without knowing what they’re saying about whatever’s huge, it weird to jump to either conclusion that he’s def gone or this is BS. For me anyway.

It just sounds too big. It could be a huge story but putting out info like 50+ people have been interviewed is a way of trying to claim a lot of people are involved and have witnessed wrong doing. Just because that many people were interviewed means nothing. They may have needed to talk to that many people to find 1 that witnessed something.

The way people are they'll focus on the "50+ people" part rather than the "interviewed" part. That's focusing on an unimportant detail. It doesn't matter how many people were interviewed, really. How many people to the Suns employee? 1000? Maybe. If 50+ people are on record then that's worth paying attention to. 50+ people only indicates this reporter did their job and spoke with a few people to corroborate what they've heard. There's no telling how many of those interviewed actually witnessed something or were victims of Sarvers.

 

[Hoop Head]

The concept that a former employee (Amin) would be salty whenever talking about Sarver for over a decade I can accept. The concept of him carrying a vendetta to bring Sarver down over a decade later seems far fetched. Particularly when that former employee landed pretty well on his feet professionally.

Surely you've known vindictive people who hold grudges. There are plenty of people who will use their improved station to get back at someone they believe wronged them. The former US president used his position to get back at people who said his hands were small. People can be petty. That's an extreme case but if the US President can use their position like that then I won't dismiss the idea a former Suns employee who lands at ESPN doesn't want to get back at the guy who fired him from his Suns job. Is that's what is happening? I don't know. I hope not. Until we see what the evidence is and who is involved then I'll continue to be skeptical of wrongdoing. Sarver has been relatively clean for the last 20 years and he's a boisterous buffoon. If there was real dirt out there then I think it would have come out already. People like that aren't usually good at hiding their more reprehensible behavior and actions.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Surely you've known vindictive people who hold grudges. There are plenty of people who will use their improved station to get back at someone they believe wronged them. The former US president used his position to get back at people who said his hands were small. People can be petty. That's an extreme case but if the US President can use their position like that then I won't dismiss the idea a former Suns employee who lands at ESPN doesn't want to get back at the guy who fired him from his Suns job. Is that's what is happening? I don't know. I hope not. Until we see what the evidence is and who is involved then I'll continue to be skeptical of wrongdoing. Sarver has been relatively clean for the last 20 years and he's a boisterous buffoon. If there was real dirt out there then I think it would have come out already. People like that aren't usually good at hiding their more reprehensible behavior and actions.

Harvey Weinstein was clean for thirty years prior to 2017. Cosby the same. For much much worse things than seem to be alleged to be a bombshell here. Money and power talk so just the fact that he’s still “clean” after all this time doesn’t tell me anything, either way.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Surely you've known vindictive people who hold grudges. There are plenty of people who will use their improved station to get back at someone they believe wronged them. The former US president used his position to get back at people who said his hands were small. People can be petty. That's an extreme case but if the US President can use their position like that then I won't dismiss the idea a former Suns employee who lands at ESPN doesn't want to get back at the guy who fired him from his Suns job. Is that's what is happening? I don't know. I hope not. Until we see what the evidence is and who is involved then I'll continue to be skeptical of wrongdoing. Sarver has been relatively clean for the last 20 years and he's a boisterous buffoon. If there was real dirt out there then I think it would have come out already. People like that aren't usually good at hiding their more reprehensible behavior and actions.

I think Amin left ESPN around the time of the Rachel Nichols story that ultimately cost her career. At the time, Amin was very outspoken about the network (called it a Game of Thrones environment) and took several shots at Woj when he referred to her as a "bad person" or something like that. I'm sure he's probably fed some information to this story but I no longer think he's very involved in it.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Harvey Weinstein was clean for thirty years prior to 2017. Cosby the same. For much much worse things than seem to be alleged to be a bombshell here. Money and power talk so just the fact that he’s still “clean” after all this time doesn’t tell me anything, either way.

I'm nowhere close to the entertainment industry and even I had heard for years (and assumed to be true) some pretty damning stories about Harvey. I read some complaints about Cosby but I was probably the 2nd to last person to believe they were true. But you're right, sometimes it takes years for the information dam to break when you're dealing with people of money and power.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Surely you've known vindictive people who hold grudges. There are plenty of people who will use their improved station to get back at someone they believe wronged them. The former US president used his position to get back at people who said his hands were small. People can be petty. That's an extreme case but if the US President can use their position like that then I won't dismiss the idea a former Suns employee who lands at ESPN doesn't want to get back at the guy who fired him from his Suns job. Is that's what is happening? I don't know. I hope not. Until we see what the evidence is and who is involved then I'll continue to be skeptical of wrongdoing. Sarver has been relatively clean for the last 20 years and he's a boisterous buffoon. If there was real dirt out there then I think it would have come out already. People like that aren't usually good at hiding their more reprehensible behavior and actions.

But Amin had that platform for a loooong time. He could’ve sprung his dastardly trap years ago. And while I think he’s salty he doesn’t otherwise seem like a bad person. Can’t say the same for trump - who no way could’ve waited years to bring down his offenders. And he’s an evil person at his core as well.

If Amin plays any role in this I’m betting it is as a member of the cast, not the mastermind who concocted the whole plan to ruin Sarver.

 

[Hoop Head]

Harvey Weinstein was clean for thirty years prior to 2017. Cosby the same. For much much worse things than seem to be alleged to be a bombshell here. Money and power talk so just the fact that he’s still “clean” after all this time doesn’t tell me anything, either way.

I've heard Weinstein's behavior was an open secret in Hollywood. I'm glad he got brought down but no one was surprised by it because everyone heard of his indiscretions before. Once real evidence came out then he was rightfully removed from his position of authority and power. The point being, anyone who paid attention wasn't surprised by his downfall. Once evidence was present, he was done. There's no evidence against Sarved yet.

If Sarver is taken down then he deserves it so long as he actually acted inappropriately. It seems people have looked for dirt but haven't found it for a while. The reason could be that he's clean. I don't know. I'm not going to stone him before evidence comes out. Is it possible? Sure. I'll believe it when I see it though.

 

[Hoop Head]

But Amin had that platform for a loooong time. He could’ve sprung his dastardly trap years ago. And while I think he’s salty he doesn’t otherwise seem like a bad person. Can’t say the same for trump - who no way could’ve waited years to bring down his offenders. And he’s an evil person at his core as well.

If Amin plays any role in this I’m betting it is as a member of the cast, not the mastermind who concocted the whole plan to ruin Sarver.

If Amin is the mastermind behind it then I believe it could discredit the whole thing, right or wrong. It won't help.

I'd bet on him being involved in some way. Who knows in what capacity. His involvement doesn't invalidate the entire thing but it won't really help either.

 

[Cheesebeef]

If Amin is the mastermind behind it then I believe it could discredit the whole thing, right or wrong. It won't help.

I'd bet on him being involved in some way. Who knows in what capacity. His involvement doesn't invalidate the entire thing but it won't really help either.

It will only discredit the story to the few people on this board. No one cares outside of the biggest, most die hard sunsfandom and the journalists covering the sport have never seemed to give a crap about his connections.

 

[Mainstreet]

It could be someone picked up past allegations, added more interviews and is running with a new story using that as a foundation.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I've heard Weinstein's behavior was an open secret in Hollywood. I'm glad he got brought down but no one was surprised by it because everyone heard of his indiscretions before. Once real evidence came out then he was rightfully removed from his position of authority and power. The point being, anyone who paid attention wasn't surprised by his downfall. Once evidence was present, he was done. There's no evidence against Sarved yet.

If Sarver is taken down then he deserves it so long as he actually acted inappropriately. It seems people have looked for dirt but haven't found it for a while. The reason could be that he's clean. I don't know. I'm not going to stone him before evidence comes out. Is it possible? Sure. I'll believe it when I see it though.

Weinstein was a notorious a-hole, that A LOT of people hated (sound familiar) but people weren’t openly talking about him being a rapist.

 

[Hoop Head]

It will only discredit the story to the few people on this board. No one cares outside of the biggest, most die hard sunsfandom and the journalists covering the sport have never seemed to give a crap about his connections.

Maybe. I think that will create a narrative for Sarver to squeak past it. The evidence will need to be stronger if Amin is involved than if it's someone with no negative history with the Suns or Sarver.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It could be someone picked up past allegations, added more interviews and is running with a new story.

Yeah. One of my friends says he knows people that work in Suns corporate and part of this goes back to a 2004 sexual harrasment situation that was swept under the rug, but was surprised at the racism stuff.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Was interesting that in an entire broadcast about the Suns ESPN didn’t mention that tweet ONCE. Or did I miss that?

 

[Hoop Head]

Weinstein was a notorious a-hole, that A LOT of people hated (sound familiar) but people weren’t openly talking about him being a rapist.

That could be true. I seem to recall that it was known he was infamous for coercing women into trading sexual favors for opportunities and was one of the people who sort of propagated the "casting couch" mentality.

You're in the industry so you'd know better than me. I just remember hearing he was super slimy going way back. Coercing women into trading sex for roles wasn't always viewed as rape like it is now. I'm not saying that's right either because it's not. I'm grateful we've come to accept that is rape now as a society and those who abuse power in that way are in fact rapists.

 

[Finito]

Maybe. I think that will create a narrative for Sarver to squeak past it. The evidence will need to be stronger if Amin is involved than if it's someone with no negative history with the Suns or Sarver.

No negative history with Sarver? In case you haven’t noticed everybody who’s left here in the last 17 years has nothing good to say about him from staff to players

 

[Cheesebeef]

That could be true. I seem to recall that it was known he was infamous for coercing women into trading sexual favors for opportunities and was one of the people who sort of propagated the "casting couch" mentality.

You're in the industry so you'd know better than me. I just remember hearing he was super slimy going way back. Coercing women into trading sex for roles wasn't always viewed as rape like it is now. I'm not saying that's right either because it's not. I'm grateful we've come to accept that is rape now as a society and those who abuse power in that way are in fact rapists.

Same.

I’m in wait and see mode here.

 

[95pro]

Clearly I'm no Amin fan and I'd be surprised if he isn't a part of this in some way, but I don't think ESPN would run with it if he were behind it. I'm pretty sure their parting wasn't all that friendly. If ESPN does run this story, I'd have to believe there's a lot to it.

I met him in Vegas at summer league.
Seemed kind of like a cool guy. But also too overconfident maybe a bit pretentious. He also got upset because I didn’t pronounce his last name correctly lol.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Maybe. I think that will create a narrative for Sarver to squeak past it. The evidence will need to be stronger if Amin is involved than if it's someone with no negative history with the Suns or Sarver.

I disagree. Because it won’t be the story that is Sarver’s undoing. It will be the evidence. It’s either there or it isn’t. Even if a credible source broke the story and it’s not Amin but the evidence isn’t there Sarver skates.

 

[Yuma]

I am guessing the delay to releasing the story, is maybe they want to print it in ESPN the magazine, if that is still around?

 

[Yuma]

I disagree. Because it won’t be the story that is Sarver’s undoing. It will be the evidence. It’s either there or it isn’t. Even if a credible source broke the story and it’s not Amin but the evidence isn’t there Sarver skates.

It's always the lying, or the cover up that really nails it. I think that's why people piece meal out the story in small amounts, so that the accused buries themselves by lying in real time!