PayPal, whose logo is featured on the Suns‘ uniforms as part of the NBA’s jersey sponsorship program, issued a statement on Friday announcing that the company won’t continue its agreement with the franchise beyond the 2022/23 season as long as owner Robert Sarver remains involved with the team.
[RELATED: Suns’ Robert Sarver Fined $10MM, Suspended One Year]
“We have reviewed the report of the NBA league’s independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values,” PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman said in a statement. “PayPal’s sponsorship with the Suns is set to expire at the end of the current season. In light of the findings of the NBA’s investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver remain involved with the Suns organization, after serving his suspension.”
PayPal’s announcement comes on the heels of Jahm Najafi, one of the Suns’ vice chairmen and minority stakeholders, calling for Sarver’s resignation.
As Baxter Holmes of ESPN relays (via Twitter), Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego and some city council members also put out a statement announcing that staffers will open an investigation into the situation to see if there’s any actions that city leaders can take in response to the report on Sarver’s misconduct.
Here’s more on the Sarver saga:
- While many league sources who spoke to Howard Beck of SI.com this week expressed frustration over Sarver’s relatively light punishment and commissioner Adam Silver‘s subsequent explanation, it’s possible the one-year suspension and $10MM fine won’t be the “final word,” Beck writes. As Beck observes, if NBA players, the public, and corporate sponsors continue to put pressure on the league to take stronger action, it’s possible the Suns’ minority owners and/or the other 29 team owners will in turn put pressure on Sarver to sell the team.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic views Silver’s Wednesday press conference as the lowlight of his tenure as commissioner, suggesting that Silver seemed unprepared for some of the tougher questions he faced and that his performance “had the impact of pouring gasoline on a brush fire.” However, Hollinger believes that Silver could salvage the situation by spending Sarver’s one-year suspension working behind the scenes to try to get the Suns owner to sell.
- Although Silver can’t force Sarver to sell his team, he could’ve imposed a suspension longer than one year on the Suns owner, Beck observes. It’s possible the NBA was wary of a potential lawsuit if it had handed Sarver a multiyear ban, Beck adds.
I called Dennis Schröder as my prediction for tournament MVP before this thing started & that’s exactly what he’s playing like rn. Spain had been red hot shooting for most of the1st half & the Germans had been a lil sluggish. Then Dennis took over. Hes 7-9 from the field & has 21pts to lead his team. 7pt German lead early in the 2nd half
Lorenzo Brown is almost matching Dennis shot for shot tho. He has 16pts on 7-8 from the field so far. Both those guys been the best players on the court by far. Willy Hernangomez was dominant early & got Theis in some early foul trouble but he’s been silent lately. 10-0 Spanish run has given them the lead back tho. This thing prob be back&forth the rest of the way
My boy Schröder out here playin his ass off. He’s up to 28pts & Germany has a 8pt lead with 2mins left. Franz starting to make his presence felt as well. I’m curious as to why Spain isn’t force feeding their best player (Willy) more in the post. Germany is playing smaller guys on him bc Theis has 3fouls
Slight 4-0 Spanish run to end the 4th might not seem like much but it was crucial for them to stop the German momentum & to keep the deficit in single digits goin to the 4th. They’re currently down 6 as we start the final frame. I feel like Lorenzo Brown is gonna have to outplay Schröder & same for Willy outplaying Theis for Spain to make this comeback in enemy territory
Franz vs Juancho is the other key match up. Franz just layed him up & on the next possession slayed him with the stepback j. #savage
Back2back buckets by LBrown cut the lead down to 3 & on the next possession he penetrates & finds a wide open Juancho who buries the trey. Tie game w/ 6:27 left
Spain has silenced this crowd with this 4th qtr run they’re currently on. They have the momentum & a 4pt lead w/ 4:30 left
I said LoBrown was gonna have to outplay Dennis & that’s exactly what he’s doing rn. His corner trey (over good d) pushes Spains lead to 6, 2:30 left. Brown up to 25pts on the game
I hear a lot of Spaniards didn’t want Lorenzo Brown on this team. I feel like he mighta changed some minds with his performance in this tournament. Especially vs Turkey & here vs Germany. He has 27pts 6asts & made all the big plays to put Spain on the doorstep of the Final. Germany on the other hand been extremely disappointing in this 4th qtr. They’re down 5 w/ 33secs to go
Spain vs France for the title of Sunday as Spain wins this 1 by 5. Amazing performances by the 2 lead guards, LBrown 29pts & DSchröder 30pts. Hopefully it’s even half as great as this classic ESP vs FRA match-up from the 2013 EuroBasket semis.. link to m.youtube.com
It would just be hilarious if Lorenzo Brown gets MVP of the European Basketball Championship Tournament lol. Lookin like at least 80% of the All-Tournament team is gonna be Black guys, Brown, Schröder, Giannis & Rudy will prob be joined by Luka (tho AJ Slaughter definitely outplayed him when it mattered most). Wheres the guy that was quoting Digital Underground yesterday lol… link to m.youtube.com
Thanks! Enjoying your play-by-play & commentary. Your’s is the only coverage I’m getting. Money must be acing America out.
They’re moving fast lol. If they cared this much they would’ve done it prior to this
PayPal wasn’t going to pay the market rate to renew anyways.
Sarver is a foul sphincter of hoarded (& most likely, crooked) wealth but so are most of the NBA owners. The only difference presently is that the others haven’t had their more despicable utterances recorded. The whole thing is a farcical distraction.
This is exactly the way all wealthy conservative Americans behave. The league is full of wealthy black men with power, and voices, so that behavior just doesn’t play as well there. At least Sarver will be more careful about who he’s being himself around in the future. Big eye roll.
Ousting Sarver was never an option and the financial hit was maxed out, but I agree that Silver made a mistake in not lengthening the suspension. Two years should’ve been the minimum, but preferably three. One year away is going to feel more like a vacation.