Appearing on ESPN NBA Today with Malika Andrews on Friday, Tremaglio was asked to clarify her position after posting a Twitter thread on Thursday in which she said Sarver should never be in a managerial position again.
When asked if she meant a lifetime ban for Sarver, Tremaglio agreed.
“We absolutely demand that,” Tremaglio said. “We don’t want him to be in a position where he manages or engages with individuals who engage with our players or our players themselves.
“We are absolutely clear from the findings of this report that we do not want him to be in that position.”
The report, commissioned by the NBA last fall, found that Sarver “engaged in conduct that clearly violated common workplace standards, as evidenced by team and league rules and policies.” This conduct included the use of racially insensitive language; statements and behaviors related to sex; and harsh treatment of employees which, on occasion, amounted to intimidation. »
Part of the findings revealed that Sarver had “on at least five occasions during his tenure with the Suns/Mercury organization, repeated the N-word while recounting the statements of others.”
He also “engaged in instances of unfair conduct towards female employees, made numerous gender-related comments in the workplace, made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women, and on several occasions engaged in inappropriate physical conduct towards male employees.”
When asked, Tremaglio said she was ‘speaking on behalf of our players’.
“It’s the desire of our players that while we understand there’s been a thorough investigation and we’re very happy the NBA was able to follow through on this – because it’s clearly something we want see it happen – we also want to make it very clear that we don’t want him back in a position where he will impact our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis.”
Also on Friday, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said the global technology platform and digital payments company would not renew their sponsorship with the Suns if Sarver remained with the team.
“PayPal is a values-driven company and has a strong track record in the fight against racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination,” Schulman said in a statement. “We have reviewed the report of the NBA’s independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and found his conduct to be unacceptable and contrary to our values.”
In October 2018, the Suns announced that PayPal would be the team’s first-ever jersey patch partner.
“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 if Robert Sarver remains involved with the Suns organization after serving his suspension. the statement continued.
“While we strongly reject the conduct of Robert Sarver, we continue to support the team, its players and the experienced and diverse talent who currently lead the organization including Head Coach, Monty Williams, Managing Director, James Jones , Deputy Managing Director, Morgan Cato. , and Senior Vice President of People and Culture, Kim Corbitt.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained why Sarver was not banned for life for his comments.
CNN contacted the Suns but did not immediately respond.
