Report: Adam Silver Apologized to Suns Employees After Robert Sarver Investigation

NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly apologized to Phoenix Suns employees for workplace misconduct they endured during the tenure of majority owner Robert Sarver.

ESPN's Baxter Holmes reported Friday that Silver held a meeting with the Suns organization ahead of Wednesday's season-opening game against the Dallas Mavericks.

"I'm incredibly empathetic to what many of you have lived through," Silver said, later adding: "To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize. I take responsibility for that."

Sarver announced in September he had started the process of selling the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury following the NBA's investigation.

Listed among the key findings of the probe, which was conducted independently by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, was Sarver's use of racist language, "inequitable conduct" toward female employees, "inappropriate physical conduct" toward male employees and general "demeaning and harsh treatment of employees."

The NBA fined Sarver $10 million and suspended him for one year, but several players, including the Suns' Chris Paul and Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, spoke out saying the punishment wasn't enough before the sale announcement.

"As a man of faith, I believe in atonement and the path to forgiveness," Sarver said in a statement. "I expected that the commissioner's one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love. But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible—that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past. For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury."

Silver also took questions from Suns employees during Wednesday's meeting, including one about whether he'd heard about Sarver's conduct before it became public, per Baxter.

"Did I hear ever that Robert could be difficult to deal with? Sure," Silver said. "But that's very different than conduct which is viewed as discriminatory in any way."

He called the situation a "failure of an overall system" but said there weren't any "deep answers" for why action wasn't taken sooner.

"You do need to talk about it," Silver responded to one employee who expressed "lingering frustration" about how Sarver's conduct was initially handled. "I think it's healthy."

Sam Garvin, who's serving as the Suns' interim governor while Sarver works through the sale process, was also in attendance for the session.

Sarver hasn't announced a timetable for selling the franchises. Next up for Phoenix on the court is a road game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.