Never has there been so little focus on basketball at the NBA’s annual media day. And for good reason. The league has been in turmoil throughout its craziest offseason in history.
Roughly a third of the NBA’s 30 teams have faced questions about off-court dynamics ranging from awkward to morally and legally wrong, and let’s just say team personnel aren’t always equipped to be the bearers. PR floor for their organization’s failures. The players commanded the multi-billion dollar society empowerment, and the league repaid them by positioning them to answer for its misconduct.
“It’s not the Robert Sarver I know”
We are two weeks away from the NBA suspending Phoenix Suns managing partner Robert Sarver for the season following an investigation into allegations of racism, misogyny and other professional misconduct. Last week, Sarver announced his intention to sell the team and blamed those unwilling to forgive his abhorrent conduct.
The Suns did not make interim team owner Sam Garvin available to the media, which left general manager James Jones as the face of the organization Monday. Jones previously defended Sarver in the days after ESPN’s Baxter Holmes uncovered numerous allegations that the NBA investigation would later confirm.
“None of what was said describes the Robert Sarver I know, respect and love – it simply does not,” Jones said in a statement released by the Suns in October 2021, alongside the Suns’ own denial. Sarver of any wrongdoing.
Jones had to answer for that on Monday.
“When I made my statements last year, I maintain that this is my experience, and I still cannot speak for others and their experience, but now that we know, these things are not acceptable, and they’re not cool,” Jones told reporters gathered in Phoenix. “I think those who have been affected deserve our respect and support. That’s what I’m here for, but I won’t disregard what I said, because it was my experience.”
He shouldn’t have issued a statement undermining the experiences of others, and he certainly shouldn’t stand by that statement now. We’ve all read the report, and Jones, as the senior manager of the organization, is charged with speaking on behalf of others, like it or not. What Sarver did is shameful. Period. End of sentence.
This is the problem when employees must answer for the faults of their employer. They have been placed in an awkward position, and they will not or cannot always be as contrite as we would like. Who among us would be sure that the right words would come if publicly asked to explain the behavior of our bosses.
League-wide, not a single team owner made himself available to address cultural concerns Monday. Unfortunately, when leaders don’t properly account for organizational missteps, players can follow.
“It’s hard for me, because he’s not the Robert Sarver I know,” Suns star Devin Booker told reporters. “It was not the Robert Sarver who welcomed me with open arms to Phoenix, but at the same time, I am not insensitive to everyone involved in this situation, and I understand that everyone’s personal experiences with others are going to be different. But it’s hard to read, because that’s not the person I know.”
When we fail to hold those in power accountable for their abuses, we fail their victims. Sarver’s peers’ reluctance to put his team’s ownership to a vote has left everyone in the Suns organization to explain his paltry punishment, so players become the figureheads of NBA chess in its together.
As Jones conceded, “It’s a tough position to be in. We’re visible. I like to say a lot of times, just because you’re visible doesn’t mean you have to be public, or just because you’re public. it is not always necessary to be visible. Those who have a platform, those who are comfortable expressing themselves and who can lead in this way, I congratulate them, because it is difficult. put into play. We expose ourselves to criticism.”
Not a single NBA team owner is therefore commendable. Some executives either. This has a ripple effect that forces players to take responsibility for all league matters, often unfairly and uncomfortably.
“Nobody died, so I didn’t lose anything”
The Boston Celtics also shared little factual substance about their suspension of head coach Ime Udoka. At a press conference on Friday, three days before the players are due to meet the media, managing partner Wyc Grousbeck and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens did not confirm reports that Udoka had engaged in a “…inappropriate relationship with a female staff member of the team” and allegedly made “undesirable comments about him”. Citing confidentiality concerns, they did not even say whether they believed the independent investigation had uncovered allegations against Udoka of harassment or harm to his colleagues.
The Celtics simply said Udoka violated multiple team policies and asked for our confidence that his suspension is “well-justified and appropriate”, even though they did not disclose the length and terms of their sanctions.
This led players on Monday to express “a lot of confusion”, “shock”, “surprise” and internal “speculation” as “a lot of information was not being shared with us or team members. “. The players didn’t ask for it, and yet because the team failed to explain Udoka’s suspension, they answer for it.
Players have therefore been put in position to defend a manager whose conduct has not been defined.
“Nobody died, so I didn’t lose anything,” Marcus Smart said. “I still love Ime, personally and as a coach. It was just something unfortunate that happened to him. It doesn’t take anything away from what he did as a coach.”
“In terms of character and relationship, he was a great coach,” added team-mate Grant Williams. “He was a man who challenged you and held you to a high standard, and I think he will continue to do so.”
Neither answer will sit well with anyone in the organization negatively affected by Udoka’s behavior, but again, when leaders disregard irregularities, it can erode the culture of the entire workplace. work.
‘I hope we get it [back]’
The same goes for the Charlotte Hornets, who did not make managing partner Michael Jordan or general manager Mitch Kupchak available to reporters on media day, leaving head coach Steve Clifford and his players face questions over the uncertainty of free agent Miles Bridges’ future with the agency.
Bridges was arrested on the eve of Free Will for a felony. The following day, his wife publicly shared disturbing images, videos and documents of Bridges’ alleged domestic abuse against her.
The Hornets have not commented since releasing a statement on July 19, when Bridges was formally charged “with one count of injuring the parent of a child and two counts of child abuse. child in circumstances or conditions likely to cause serious bodily injury or death”. The team’s statement reads: “We are aware of the charges which were filed today against Miles Bridges. These are very serious charges which we will continue to monitor. As this is a matter legal, we will have no further comment at this time.”
The preliminary hearing for the case against Bridges is scheduled for September 29, so the Hornets have asked Clifford “not to speak about any aspect of it,” the coach said. He was unprepared to offer any semblance of sensitivity to the issue, equating Bridges’ absence with a COVID-related injury or absence. With no leadership on the matter, we’ve heard worse from Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, who said of Bridges: “Hopefully we get it. [back]so I’m not really trying to shed negative energy, I’m just trying to keep it positive.
None of the more prominent members of the team were even willing to publicly offer sympathy for the alleged victims, let alone state, if Bridges is found guilty of domestic and child abuse, that he will not should not be welcomed again. What message does it send to the whole organization when players are more willing to protect their own than to admit the possibility that someone less visible could be negatively affected?
“I can’t comment”
Addressing far less serious off-court issues, two other high-profile executives also evaded responsibility.
Facing charges of tampering with the league office for his team’s offseason signings of James Harden, PJ Tucker and Danuel House, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said, “I don’t can’t comment,” despite Tucker’s concession on Monday, “Me and James were trying to come the year before.”
At least Morey made himself available. Knicks president Leon Rose, who is under investigation for alleged tampering with Jalen Brunson’s offseason signing, met only with team-owned media on Monday. He led a press conference once in two tumultuous years in the league’s biggest media market.
All of this makes you wonder what kind of erosive effect this will have on fan confidence in the league.
If Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving can’t even accept responsibility for their contributions to the team’s tumultuous offseason – an NBA story that dominated the summer and now seems insignificant compared to the situations in Phoenix, Boston and Charlotte – what faith do we have that we got straight answers from anyone on media day? That doesn’t matter when it comes to trade news and rumors, but it’s a serious concern when people’s well-being is part of what the league obscures.
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Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Do you have any advice? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach