The Phoenix Suns have moved swiftly to name an interim governor in the wake of Robert Sarver’s one year suspension. The 60-year-old was handed the punishment earlier in the week for racial and sexual misconduct in the workplace.
But if fans expect the new governor to drastically shift the culture of the franchise, then those expectations are greatly misplaced.
Sam Garvin will become the interim governor of the Phoenix Suns, a move that’s again raised a few eyebrows within league circles.
Garvin is the vice chairman of the Suns, having been with the franchise since 2005. After ESPN’s Baxter Holmes first reported on Sarver’s misconduct in September last year, Garvin was among many who backed him in a statement in November.
Garvin will undoubtedly act as a puppet master for Sarver as he continues to control the franchise from behind the scenes. This was always going to be the case once the NBA failed to make a more progressive and impactful stance.
A former employee of Garvin has labelled him as a ‘passive-aggressive, irrational and highly unethical individual’. They go on to state that there are no positives at all, and that they have no advice to management as ‘they won’t change at all’.
This is someone who has been a part of, and contributed to the Suns working culture for nearly two decades. The NBA said they’d work with Sarver to find an interim replacement, yet it seems they were happy to accept whoever Sarver saw fit.
Public pressure continues to mount as fans and players speak out on the disappointing penalty given by the NBA. Speaking in a press conference yesterday, commissioner Adam Silver said he didn’t have the right to take away the Suns from Sarver, unlike the situation with Donald Sterling in 2014.