Phoenix Suns minority owner calls for Robert Sarver to resign in open letter

Phoenix Suns vice chairman Jahm Najafi called Thursday for team owner Robert Sarver to resign, saying there should be “zero tolerance” for lewd, misogynistic and racist conduct in any workplace.

Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10m by the NBA on Tuesday, after a 10-month investigation showed the Suns owner had used racist language, made crude and sexually suggestive comments to employees, and had bullying tendencies.

“I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege,” Najafi wrote in a letter released through a public-relations firm. “Therefore, in accordance with my commitment to helping eradicate any form of racism, sexism and bias, as Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver.”

Najafi has been critical of Sarver throughout this saga, which broke when ESPN released a story in November detailing widespread claims of wrongdoing by Sarver. That reporting prompted the NBA to commission an investigation. Najafi is one of three vice chairmen for the Suns, with several other minority investors also part of the ownership group.

NOW @Suns billionaire vice chairman Jahm Najafi calls on majority owner Robert Sarver to step down but says he has "no interest in becoming managing partner." pic.twitter.com/ArPLeZkSU0

Once the investigation ended, NBA commissioner Adam Silver decided a one-year suspension and $10m fine was the appropriate penalty. He said Wednesday that one key finding by outside investigators – that while Sarver “repeated or purported to repeat the N-word on at least five occasions spanning his tenure with the Suns,” investigators made “no finding that