And the National Basketball Players Association later made its stance clear, with executive director Tamika Tremaglio telling ESPN that NBA players want Sarver banned for life. PayPal said its current partnership agreement with the Suns expires after the upcoming 2022-23 season, meaning it will expire during Sarver’s one-year suspension from the NBA. Sarver was suspended this week, as well as fined $10 million, after an investigation showed a pattern of lewd, misogynistic and racist speech and behavior during his 18 years as Suns owner. In a statement, PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman pointed to his company’s “strong track record of fighting racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination” and said Sarver’s behavior was “unacceptable and in conflict with our values”. “In light of the findings of the NBA’s investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship if Robert Sarver continues to participate in the Suns organization after serving his suspension,” Shulman said. Schulman said PayPal will continue to support the team, its players “and the experienced and diverse talent now leading the organization,” including coaches Monty Williams, general manager James Jones, assistant general manager Morgan Cato and senior vice president of people and culture Kim Corbitt. Williams, Jones, Cato and Corbitt are black. The investigation into Sarver found that he “repeated or was alleged to have repeated the N-word on at least five occasions during his tenure with the Suns,” though it noted that independent attorneys hired by the NBA to conduct the investigation “did not find that Sarver used this racially insensitive language with the intent to belittle or demean.” PayPal’s statement came a day after Suns vice president Jahm Najafi called on Sarver to resign, saying there should be “zero tolerance” for lewd, misogynistic and racist behavior in any workplace. Some players, including Suns guard Chris Paul — a former president of the National Basketball Players Association — and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James also said the NBA’s sanctions on Sarver didn’t go far enough. Those statements from Paul and James came Wednesday, hours after NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained some of the reasons he decided the suspension and fine were the appropriate sanctions. On Friday, Tremaglio told ESPN that the league “absolutely” wants Sarver out of the league. “While we understand that there has been a thorough investigation and we’re very pleased that the NBA was able to follow through because that’s clearly something that we want to see happen, we also want to make it very clear that we don’t want him back in a position where he’s going to affect the our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis,” Tremaglio said in a televised interview. PayPal is headquartered in San Jose, California. The technology platform and digital payments company has also been a partner of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a Spanish soccer team, both owned by Sarver.
