Robert Sarver is in Big Trouble (ANNOUNCES SALE PROCESS)

[AzStevenCal]

Now a video surfaces of Sarver speaking like he is accused of doing at work. Drip, drip, drip.....

Are you talking about the memorial roast or is there another video circulating?

 

[Yuma]

Are you talking about the memorial roast or is there another video circulating?

The memorial roast. It's the same language and type of stories Sarver has denied.

 

[Cheesebeef]

What's more is that things like this can take the sting out of some of the actual things that Sarver may have actually done. Or at least now there will be a contingent of people that will think it could be all made up **** now.

That is one of the most damaging things from Jalen’s BS comment. Don’t give the FAKE NEWS! people a reason to blow off the rest of the story. Just terrible reporting.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Are you talking about the memorial roast or is there another video circulating?

The Cheerleaders and the Secretary weren’t the ones being roasted, so what does it matter?

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Cheerleaders and the Secretary weren’t the ones being roasted, so what does it matter?

I haven't watched a roast in years. So obviously I haven't watched the roast video but if they were part of the roast, that matters. Again, unless it's changed, for those of us that tuned in to the Dean Martin Roasts, every single person involved in the roast is fair game.

But regardless, I simply wanted to know if there was an additional video that portrayed him poorly. With the situation as it is, that's probably a reasonable question on any given day.

 

[Evil Ash]

That is one of the most damaging things from Jalen’s BS comment. Don’t give the FAKE NEWS! people a reason to blow off the rest of the story. Just terrible reporting.

The problem with guys like Jalen rose on TV is that they view themselves as entertainers and not reporters. However when you say something like that you are held to that standard as they are using sources.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I haven't watched a roast in years. So obviously I haven't watched the roast video but if they were part of the roast, that matters. Again, unless it's changed, for those of us that tuned in to the Dean Martin Roasts, every single person involved in the roast is fair game.

But regardless, I simply wanted to know if there was an additional video that portrayed him poorly. With the situation as it is, that's probably a reasonable question on any given day.

When you roast someone you roast THAT PERSON. You don’t trash others who are totally immaterial to the person in question. Especially subordinates.

Do you think the cheerleaders he claimed all screwed the person/people being roasted were there... at a part owner’s funeral roast? Or the secretary of someone else at the roast who Sarver opined must have “tiny tits”? Posts like the above are why people still think there are still people defending Sarver here. It’s a type of pretzeling on his behalf that’s happened here for a long time.

 

[Hoop Head]

When you roast someone you roast THAT PERSON. You don’t trash others who are totally immaterial to the person in question. Especially subordinates.

Do you think the cheerleaders he claimed all screwed the person/people being roasted were there... at a part owner’s funeral roast? Or the secretary of someone else at the roast who Sarver opined must have “tiny tits”? Posts like the above are why people still think there are still people defending Sarver here. It’s a type of pretzeling on his behalf that’s happened here for a long time.

You keep twisting that cheerleader line and I don't believe it's nearly as demeaning as you think. The "joke" he told implied the deceased's sons would be trying to sleep with as many cheerleaders as they possibly could because they're juvenile horn dogs rather than the cheerleaders were promiscuous. I thought that was pretty straightforward but I guess not. Bad joke? Yes but he shouldn't be crucified for it.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Lol. You need to finely hone your reading comprehension skills. Nowhere do I say it’s 6. I’m saying we have no idea what the number is. But those throwing around the articles “70” are most likely wrong and falling for an old writers ploy.

I was using 6 as a small number. My point was that 6 is highly unlikely.

 

[AzStevenCal]

When you roast someone you roast THAT PERSON. You don’t trash others who are totally immaterial to the person in question. Especially subordinates.

Do you think the cheerleaders he claimed all screwed the person/people being roasted were there... at a part owner’s funeral roast? Or the secretary of someone else at the roast who Sarver opined must have “tiny tits”? Posts like the above are why people still think there are still people defending Sarver here. It’s a type of pretzeling on his behalf that’s happened here for a long time.

I haven't defended a single thing, like I said I haven't watched it. And I've skipped over your comments on it because I KNOW you and I won't see eye to eye on it and I have no desire to defend anything Sarver has done.

And like I said, for those of us that remember watching all the Dean Martin celebrity roasts, every single person involved was a legitimate target.

A lot of things have changed since those roasts in the 70's and the 80's so maybe it's no longer done that way. But they all took shots at each other. Some of the shots were funny and some of them were offensive (to me) but almost all of them would have been inappropriate in a different setting.

 

[Hoop Head]

When you roast someone you roast THAT PERSON. You don’t trash others who are totally immaterial to the person in question. Especially subordinates.

Do you think the cheerleaders he claimed all screwed the person/people being roasted were there... at a part owner’s funeral roast? Or the secretary of someone else at the roast who Sarver opined must have “tiny tits”? Posts like the above are why people still think there are still people defending Sarver here. It’s a type of pretzeling on his behalf that’s happened here for a long time.

Are you aware of the context the small tits comment also? It's also not as out of line or an indictment of his character as you claim. They don't seem to pull in unwilling or unwitting participants either like you've alluded to.

There's a transcript available if you don't want to watch the video. Here's a link to the transcript.

I've screenshotted the 2 jokes you've repeatedly brought up. Bad jokes, for sure, but he didn't seem to single out anyone not involved in the roast.

They're bad jokes but like I said before, they aren't the silver bullet some to think and I honestly don't even think they'll be considered more than bad jokes by anyone making a decision on Sarver's future. By bad I mean not very funny but not inappropriate like his pantsing an employee. This sort of stuff really shouldn't even be added to the real accusations because it will cause people to dismiss the more serious claims believing they're similar, like how Jalen Rose's comments hurt more than help.

Spoiler: NSFW "Jokes"

Here is the " cheerleader" joke...

You must be registered for see images attach

And here is the secretary "joke". He definitely doesn't single out a specific woman here to be mocked.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[sdscard4]

Pretty 'tame' for roasts I've seen. Don't ever watch the old school ones if you're easily offended lol

 

[Hoop Head]

Pretty 'tame' for roasts I've seen. Don't ever watch the old school ones if you're easily offended lol

Yeah, the roast stuff is lame and also fairly tame compared to any roast I've ever seen, going back 50+ years.

It honestly wouldn't surprise if Server's team is pushing the roast stuff to blur the lines. When you see that next to accusations of calling one of the teams top players a "lazy n*****" then it downplays the seriousness of the latter claim and causes people to ask for context rather than just condemning him for it.

I'm surprised anyone here sees anything damning in the roast material. There's been plenty of stuff to take him to task for, that isn't it. Sure, it's not a good look but are we really going to say billionaires can't make jokes with their friends? There's no question given the setting those things were intended as jokes either so it's A nothing story that hurts the serious allegations more than helps.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Yeah, the roast stuff is lame and also fairly tame compared to any roast I've ever seen, going back 50+ years.

It honestly wouldn't surprise if Server's team is pushing the roast stuff to blur the lines. When you see that next to accusations of calling one of the teams top players a "lazy n*****" then it downplays the seriousness of the latter claim and causes people to ask for context rather than just condemning him for it.

I'm surprised anyone here sees anything damning in the roast material. There's been plenty of stuff to take him to task for, that isn't it. Sure, it's not a good look but are we really going to say billionaires can't make jokes with their friends? There's no question given the setting those things were intended as jokes either so it's A nothing story that hurts the serious allegations more than helps.

Not sure how it could "blur the lines" over the Ayton comment, but it doesn't matter now as Jalen Rose already let us know he was making stuff up about that comment.

 

[Hoop Head]

Not sure how it could "blur the lines" over the Ayton comment, but it doesn't matter now as Jalen Rose already let us know he was making stuff up about that comment.

Because if everyone is discussing the roast comments there's a chance the more serious allegations fly under the radar. Of course we're all more invested as Suns fans, and I'd say everyone here is not only devoted Suns fans but more educated on the team than your average fan as far as following the day to day operations.

Look at from a casual fan perspective that just watches a game or two a week and sees the headlines out there. They probably didn't anticipate this coming like we did here, the last most probably heard about Sarver was when he was getting ripped by an old lady during city council meetings while trying to get the arena renovated. They don't view him favorably because the Suns have sucked and he has old ladies who hate him. Then he's accused of being a bigot and misogynist, guilty of saying some despicable things. Then you head Jalen Rose's accusation of what he called Ayton. A couple days pass and all that's come out is a tape of a roast where he says some questionable things but it's also from a roast and at the same time as that Jalen Rose back pedals on the most damning accusation so far. It now looks like this could have been much ado over nothing or at least not nearly something that is comparable to Donald Sterling.

I asked a friend what they thought, knowing they were a casual Suns fans and other than a few extra details about Sarver being cheap and a buffoon they hadn't heard anything other than Jalen Rose's accusation and they heard the rest of the comments came from a roast. I was a little surprised at first but taking a step back, it does make sense since most people don't read ESPN stories, especially those ripping billionaires because sports are supposed to be an escape from that. You see that on Fox, CNN, and all the other news programming. What your average person knows of this is what they pick up in casual conversations and see on the local news, which hasn't exactly gone into much detail. It's a bad look, for sure, but the roast hasn't hurt him and if anything it's caused confusion making some people think the uproar is over that rather than day to day conduct in the Suns offices.

 

[JCSunsfan]

That’s a weak sauce reply too. And Rose’s reasoning for it fails miserably. Anytime a white owner doesn’t think a black players deserves a contract they are asking fir in negotiations it’s now racist? That’s what rose is claiming he meant. Awful.

Didn't Bledsoe claim racism in his negotiations with the Suns? I agree with you. The racist claim is really falling on deaf ears these days because it is being used everywhere for everything.

 

[Mainstreet]

Because if everyone is discussing the roast comments there's a chance the more serious allegations fly under the radar. Of course we're all more invested as Suns fans, and I'd say everyone here is not only devoted Suns fans but more educated on the team than your average fan as far as following the day to day operations.

Look at from a casual fan perspective that just watches a game or two a week and sees the headlines out there. They probably didn't anticipate this coming like we did here, the last most probably heard about Sarver was when he was getting ripped by an old lady during city council meetings while trying to get the arena renovated. They don't view him favorably because the Suns have sucked and he has old ladies who hate him. Then he's accused of being a bigot and misogynist, guilty of saying some despicable things. Then you head Jalen Rose's accusation of what he called Ayton. A couple days pass and all that's come out is a tape of a roast where he says some questionable things but it's also from a roast and at the same time as that Jalen Rose back pedals on the most damning accusation so far. It now looks like this could have been much ado over nothing or at least not nearly something that is comparable to Donald Sterling.

I asked a friend what they thought, knowing they were a casual Suns fans and other than a few extra details about Sarver being cheap and a buffoon they hadn't heard anything other than Jalen Rose's accusation and they heard the rest of the comments came from a roast. I was a little surprised at first but taking a step back, it does make sense since most people don't read ESPN stories, especially those ripping billionaires because sports are supposed to be an escape from that. You see that on Fox, CNN, and all the other news programming. What your average person knows of this is what they pick up in casual conversations and see on the local news, which hasn't exactly gone into much detail. It's a bad look, for sure, but the roast hasn't hurt him and if anything it's caused confusion making some people think the uproar is over that rather than day to day conduct in the Suns offices.

I think the most prevalent opinion by the casual Suns fan is that Robert Sarver is cheap. Fair or not it has lingered for years.

There is too much ground to cover in a post on how that opinion was formed. A few examples include, the Suns have essentially traded the draft rights of players for cash considerations. Used two first round draft picks to trade a perfectly serviceable Kurt Thomas to shed salary. They even traded TJ Warren with an early second round pick to clear salary space. Also there was the rumor that Sarver was going to move the team to Seattle or Las Vegas if the Phoenix City Council didn't approve $150 million arena renovation.

The content of the recent ESPN article by Baxter Holmes and the language by Jalen Rose concerning why Ayton was not paid only adds fuel to the flame.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Didn't Bledsoe claim racism in his negotiations with the Suns? I agree with you. The racist claim is really falling on deaf ears these days because it is being used everywhere for everything.

The problem is that there IS rampant racism in America. But when someone uses it when they don’t get their way when there’s no other indication of racism other than a whole person and a blacks person are involved it undermines the cause for equality.

 

[Western Font]

It’s amazing how effective a tactic that was for the author. Here’s the actual quote and (I think) the only time the number “70” is mentioned:

“Interviews with more than 70 former and current Suns employees throughout Sarver's 17-year tenure describe a toxic and sometimes hostile workplace under Sarver. Some told ESPN that he has used racially insensitive language repeatedly in the office.”

I bolded two key words. We really have no idea how many people have made statements as to the toxic environment. Particularly if people are coming out now with more. As I’ve said before, it could be 10 (I don’t think we even have that many identified yet), or it could be over 70.

The number itself isn’t needed for us to believe in the toxicity - I think virtually all of us believe that. Rather, I the number will be dispositive of what happens. If there’s no smoking gun (tape/email) I think 10 people gets a slap on the wrist from the nba. If there’s no smoking gun and it’s 40+ people there’s just too many for the nba to sweep under the rug and it may result in sarvers departure.

Stating the number of interviews is not a tactic to mislead, it’s necessary to establish the scope of the investigation, especially with anonymous sources. It might look suspect in the passage you quoted, which isn’t even the whole passage, but if you read the article again with an eye to this you will see enough indicators of gender, employment status, organization department, and number of corroborations to demonstrate that it’s clearly a significant number.

Having been part of legal vetting for investigative and critical pieces a number of times, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Holmes’ previous drafts were more specific and softened through the editorial and legal process.

 

[Mainstreet]

There is this from Duane Rankin on twitter but there is a pay barrier. The article and video might provide more insight into Robert Sarver for those who have access.

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[Cheesebeef]

Are you aware of the context the small tits comment also? It's also not as out of line or an indictment of his character as you claim. They don't seem to pull in unwilling or unwitting participants either like you've alluded to.

There's a transcript available if you don't want to watch the video. Here's a link to the transcript.

I've screenshotted the 2 jokes you've repeatedly brought up. Bad jokes, for sure, but he didn't seem to single out anyone not involved in the roast.

They're bad jokes but like I said before, they aren't the silver bullet some to think and I honestly don't even think they'll be considered more than bad jokes by anyone making a decision on Sarver's future. By bad I mean not very funny but not inappropriate like his pantsing an employee. This sort of stuff really shouldn't even be added to the real accusations because it will cause people to dismiss the more serious claims believing they're similar, like how Jalen Rose's comments hurt more than help.

Spoiler: NSFW "Jokes"

Here is the " cheerleader" joke...

You must be registered for see images attach

And here is the secretary "joke". He definitely doesn't single out a specific woman here to be mocked.

You must be registered for see images attach

I’ve watched the small tits comment. Again, claiming that women was PART of the roast is total horse manure. WTF are you talking about that she wasn’t an unwitting member of the roast. She wasn’t there. He was ripping on someone in the crowd and then made sexually explicit comments about his Secretary. And the cheerleaders certainly weren’t part of the roast. Those are EMPLOYEES who he is airing dirty sexual laundry about to a big group of people. Continuing to defend those comments ABOUT EMPLOYEES NOT BEING ROASTED is ridiculous.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

I’ve watched the small tits comment. Again, claiming that women was PART of the roast is total horse manure. WTF are you talking about that she wasn’t an unwitting member of the roast. She wasn’t there. He was ripping on someone in the crowd and then made sexually explicit comments about his Secretary. And the cheerleaders certainly weren’t part of the roast. Those are EMPLOYEES who he is airing dirty sexual laundry about to a big group of people. Continuing to defend those comments ABOUT EMPLOYEES NOT BEING ROASTED is ridiculous.

I think Saver is watching too many Jeff Ross Comedy Central roasts where everything and anything goes?

 

[Hoop Head]

I’ve watched the small tits comment. Again, claiming that women was PART of the roast is total horse manure. WTF are you talking about that she wasn’t an unwitting member of the roast. She wasn’t there. He was ripping on someone in the crowd and then made sexually explicit comments about his Secretary. And the cheerleaders certainly weren’t part of the roast. Those are EMPLOYEES who he is airing dirty sexual laundry about to a big group of people. Continuing to defend those comments ABOUT EMPLOYEES NOT BEING ROASTED is ridiculous.

You're really stretching this to paint Sarver as some evil misogynist.

He used cheerleader and secretary very generically. Do you truly believe he knew whose phone rang, chose to feign ignorance on who it was, and then decide to attack that persons secretary's looks?

Or that he was claiming the Suns cheerleaders were easy or promiscuous simply because the roastee's sons have a proclivity for being skirt chasers and would try to sleep with them?

Again, I'm not defending Sarver but that's not all you've made it out to be.

If that's the hill you're going to die on as far as that being bulletproof evidence Sarver is a misogynist owner, fine. Have fun with that. That isn't going to convince anyone though. Stick to the claims with substance from the original ESPN article.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Stating the number of interviews is not a tactic to mislead, it’s necessary to establish the scope of the investigation, especially with anonymous sources. It might look suspect in the passage you quoted, which isn’t even the whole passage, but if you read the article again with an eye to this you will see enough indicators of gender, employment status, organization department, and number of corroborations to demonstrate that it’s clearly a significant number.

Having been part of legal vetting for investigative and critical pieces a number of times, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Holmes’ previous drafts were more specific and softened through the editorial and legal process.

I did that in my second pass and that’s where I came up with the potential for it to only be 6-10 (again, that’s NOT my claim). When references are vague enough it’s virtually impossible to determine with any certainty the actual range of numbers in play.

 

[Covert Rain]

Be careful the words you’re throwing around. We’ve seen zero “documented evidence.” And I think it’s fair to say if any existed we’d have likely seen it at this juncture.

People on record is what I mean by documented evidence. My point was that we have no idea how many people are on record. Assuming it's just 2 or 3 is just as dumb as assuming it's 70. Nobody should be "buying into" either scenario. As I stated I can't see the ESPN legal team knowing that they are going to get their pants sued off potentially would allow this to fly without reviewing the sources of the report in the first place. That is just insane.

Also, I don't agree it's fair to see that at all. Just because they didn't provide a detailed list of everyone that provided any info doesn't mean anything. The article would have been a mile long and some people simply may not have wanted their names in the story to be published. I know if I made a statement, I would wait for investigators from the NBA to contact me but I sure as hell wouldn't want my name out there to get harassed either.

Assuming they would is falling into an old investigation ploy. When I was a fraud investigator, we often would throw around numbers or suggestions about witnesses or evidence without tipping our hat on what we really had because we know it could jeopardize further investigation.