Report: Incidents involving Phoenix Suns' CEO remain an issue for employees

Phoenix Suns interim governor Sam Garvin told The Arizona Republic in a recent interview he can speak with Robert Sarver about “extraordinary items” involving the team, such as major trades that would impact the salary cap, even though Sarver is otherwise suspended from franchise activities.

Garvin was granted the role after the NBA suspended Sarver, majority owner of the Suns and Mercury franchises, for a year and fined him $10 million after a 10-month investigation into Sarver's behavior during his 18-year tenure as team owner.

The investigation concluded 'workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies'' occurring under Sarver. The investigation was launched after a 2021 ESPN report detailing incidents of racism and misogyny involving Sarver within the organization. Sarver has since said he intends to sell the Suns and Mercury franchises.

Under Garvin, the team promoted General Manager James Jones to president of basketball operations and has continued taking steps to improve workplace culture within the franchise.

“We had a culture change underway at the Suns way before the suspension," he said in the interview with The Republic. "One thing I’ve tried to do is support and accelerate that change and really connect with all of the Suns employees and make sure that they think it’s a safe, respectful, positive place to come and work. That’s been a challenge, but not an insurmountable challenge."

More:Suns team owner Robert Sarver disagrees with 'some of the particulars' in NBA investigation

However, an ESPN report posted Monday addresses an area in which Garvin does not have authority that continues to impact the environment within the organization. The NBA gave the Suns a list of provisions in imposing the Sarver sanctions, with the final one related to the interim governor, stating he couldn’t “terminate or hire a new Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or Chief Revenue Officer” of either the Suns or Mercury without Sarver’s written approval, according to the ESPN report.

In short, Garvin, a minority team owner, can’t fire CFO Jim Pitman, CRO Dan Costello and President and CEO Jason Rowley without Sarver’s written approval. For some Suns employees, that’s a problem because they contend Rowley contributed to the toxic work environment during Sarver’s run as team owner, according to the ESPN report, which outlines several incidents.

"I remember when all this stuff came out about Robert, I thought, 'Finally, but when are others going to be held accountable?'" a former Suns female employee told ESPN.

Garvin released a statement to The Republic in response to the latest ESPN report.

“I think it’s important to note that we have made and continue to make substantive changes to the culture and workplace,” said Garvin. “This is very much a different organization than it was three months ago and I believe will be further changed three months from now."

Suns Legacy Partners, LLC, the franchise's ownership group, issued a statement in response to the story, saying the franchise has used the report's findings to ''grow and improve.''

"We will continue to be accountable to our staff, partners, fans, players and the NBA, as we follow the NBA’s guidelines around workplace culture, including the creation of confidential, safe channels to anonymously report any issues,'' the statement said.

The statement responded specifically to the latest ESPN story:  "As we told the reporter of today’s story in reviewing his questions, there are factual inaccuracies not supported by the findings of already-completed internal or external investigations, including incorrect attribution of confidential claims made as part of the NBA investigation. That being said, as we move forward, we do so with the knowledge that we have not been a perfect organization. Our current leaders have taken accountability for the claims that have been substantiated through investigations. And all of us continue to be committed to learning, growing and upholding a culture of respect."

The ESPN report unveiled the backstory to an incident from the Watchell and Lipton report on the 10-month Sarver investigation in which Rowley, Costello, Suns senior vice president of ticket sales Kyle Pottinger and Melissa Goldenberg, a team general counsel, knew of an “a representative of a team sponsor” grabbing the buttocks of female Suns employee at bar in Mexico City when the Suns played at Spurs there in December 2019.

Several Suns employees told ESPN about the incident as the team sponsor reportedly also texted the female employee his hotel room number and photos of his room. The female employee still must attend events where the team sponsor rep is present, ESPN reported.

Since then, the investigation and findings have led to a heightened awareness Garvin is heading.

“We’re going to continue to change," Garvin said in the earlier interview with The Republic. "It’s a journey. We’re not there yet, but we’re going to get there.”

An example of how the franchise has changed in addressing issues occurred in February 2022 when a male fan who touched a female guest services staff member inappropriately while sitting courtside for a Suns game at Footprint Center had his seat revoked and received a yearlong suspension from the arena, ESPN reported.

However, the presence of Rowley, who has attended Suns home games this season, remains an issue because of his reported history of behavior that some employees say contributed to the toxic work environment extablished by Sarver.

The ESPN report says Rowley had a “profane-laced tirade” aimed at a female employee in 2013. Pregnant at the time, the employee struggled to get her maternity leave and was fired when returning from her leave.

“Male team executives tried to terminate the female employee while she was on leave, but the employee's female supervisor persuaded them to wait until the employee returned to work to eliminate her position," according to the Watchell and Lipton report.

A former employee told ESPN Rowley was one of the Suns executives who looked to terminate the pregnant female employee while she was on leave.

The ESPN report provided additional examples of Rowley taking a highly aggressive approach at Suns employees, female and male. A Suns employee told ESPN that Rowley “tore into” a female employee for a mistake regarding an executive gathering at a Phoenix restaurant.

The Suns employee witnessed the incident as the restaurant was unable to accommodate the gathering due to a scheduling mistake made by the restaurant.

“It was not her fault at all, and she was in tears," the Suns employee said. The female employee left the organization, ESPN reported.

Then in 2015, Rowley reportedly cursed out security as he and his wife were stopped at the arena main entrance for a concert.

"Don't you know who I f---ing am?" Rowley allegedly asked security officials, according to one former employee who was present. "Do you want to lose your f---ing job?”

This led to arena officials creating a special orange badge for entry Suns executives like Rowley could wear, but he did and his wife weren’t wearing it for a 2020 concert at the arena.

According to the ESPN report, Rowley’s wife was stopped for entering a restricted arena, which led to Rowley having words with an arena employee.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Report: Workplace incidents involving Suns' CEO remain an issue for employees