Warriors' Draymond Green says NBA owners should vote on Robert Sarver's fate with Suns

Draymond Green has joined the growing movement of former and current NBA players decrying the one-year suspension of Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver and $10 million fine instead of banning him from the league.

In the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show" podcast published on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors' All-Star suggested the 29 other team owners should vote Sarver out and force him to sell his majority stake in the Suns.

The episode comes one week after the NBA announced the end of its nearly one-year investigation of Sarver's ''workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.'' The league's report on Sarver cited his bullying by yelling at cursing at his employees, misogynist remarks to female employees, and racist remarks of repeating the N-word multiple times.

Green called for team owners to put together the NBA-mandated three-fourths vote among its Board of Governors to push Sarver out.

Green wondered why the penalty for Sarver shouldn't be similar to how former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was voted out by the Board of Governors, forced to sell the team, and banned for life by Commissioner Adam Silver in April 2014. The Sterling fallout came after an audio recording surfaced of him demanding his former girlfriend to not bring her Black friends to Clippers' home games.

"It's a little baffling to me that we'll walk into the arena next year," Green said.

"The Phoenix Suns will walk into the arena next year, he'll sit on the sideline and we'll just continue on playing. So the one thing that I am going to need is someone to explain to me why is it that it was OK to get rid of Sterling, but it's not possible to force Robert Sarver to sell after what we read?

"... I'm asking that there be a vote. If that's the only way, then let's see what those numbers are. Let's see what they are."

Green added "it's absolutely insane" that Sarver is allowed to return to his teams next year, and his actions in the league front office's report "goes against everything the NBA stands for," which makes Green feel "uncomfortable."

Silver defended the league's decision last Wednesday. He said Sarver has "evolved" during his tenure as an owner in terms of diversity hiring practices, and claimed the Sarver and Sterling cases were "dramatically different."

The investigation began after ESPN published a story about Sarver's history of workplace misconduct allegations during his Suns ownership, which began in 2004.

Green is linked to one alleged instance in the ESPN story about Sarver using the N-word during a Suns home game against the Warriors in October 2016. Former Phoenix head coach Earl Watson argued with Sarver to not repeat it despite Sarver's claim he heard Green say it first.

" ...To think that someone like Robert Sarver that’s acting in that manner can continue to represent us, that’s bulls—t," Green said.

"You can’t continue to represent way more people than yourself with those views. With speaking to people the way he did, to treating African-Americans and women the way he has, that’s not OK.”

In addition to LeBron James, Suns All-Star Chris Paul, former Suns guard Jamal Crawford and the Player's Association, Suns vice chairman Nahm Najafi has lambasted Sarver's actions in the league's report. Najafi called for his resignation, and PayPal threatened to end its sponsorship of the team if Sarver doesn't step down before the suspension ends.

Somers: Players, sponsors might have the final say on Robert Sarver's future as Suns owner

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Draymond Green says NBA owners should vote Robert Sarver out from Suns