Phoenix mayor condemns Suns owner Robert Sarver after NBA investigation

PHOENIX — Days after a bombshell report revealed a pattern of troubling conduct committed by Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, the city's leaders are condemning the NBA team for not putting up safeguards to protect its employees from Sarver's behavior. 

Mayor Kate Gallego and four council members are requesting city staff to investigate whether the City of Phoenix should take any action against the Phoenix Suns after learning that the team's owner had a history of using vulgar and racist language. 

RELATED: Suns organization, Sarver respond to NBA's fine and suspension after investigation

Sarver was fined $10 million and suspended from the NBA after a third-party report affirmed allegations that the team owner had allegedly bullied people and made inappropriate comments in front of employees.

The NBA report accused Sarver of the following types of behavior:

• Referencing engaging in a specific sexual act at an all-employee meeting
• Describing using a certain type of condom at another all-employee meeting
• Telling a story about how he learned what a "b*** job" was when he was a child at a business meeting
• Telling a female employee she's "never seen anything this big" in reference to his own genitalia
• Sending pornographic material and crude emails to a small number of male Suns leaders
• Making crude references to sex or sexual anatomy on 20 other occasions in workplace settings 
• Loudly stating racial slurs after a 2016 game between the Suns and the Golden State Warriors 

In a joint statement between Gallego and four council members, the city's leaders said they were "appalled" by the actions described in the NBA report and concerned as to how Sarver was allowed to display this type of conduct for so long.

"The actions outlined in this report do not represent the values of this city," the statement reads. "We call on the NBA to take all actions required to ensure this behavior is stopped and to reform the culture that allowed these actions to occur."

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