On Sept. 21, Robert Sarver announced in a statement that he was “beginning the process of seeking buyers” for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury following a year-long probe into the owner’s workplace misconduct. The move seemed like an inevitable consequence after facing pressure from players and sponsors for his actions — which included using the N-word on multiple occasions and making sex related comments to employees.

But it turns out the workplace misconduct at the organizations extends beyond Sarver and had a “trickle-down effect” to executives still employed by the teams, including president and chief executive officer Jason Rowley, according to an ESPN Report.

“Many current and former executives and employees told investigators they believed Sarver’s conduct had a trickle-down effect: he behaved poorly toward his direct reports, and those reports in turn felt they had license to mistreat their own reports,” the report read.

In November 2021, ESPN published a report alleging that Sarver had a long and prolific history of misogyny, toxicity and racism in his role as owner of the NBA’s Suns and WNBA’s Mercury. The NBA soon launched an external investigation into the matter that extended into September of this year. Based on the findings, the league announced a one-year suspension for Sarver and a fine for the maximum amount allowed by league bylaws — $10 million — in September for his actions. The businessman then decided to begin the process of selling the teams a week later.

Months later, an ESPN report now reveals that Rowley and other Suns executives are responsible for alleged “verbal abuse of employees, mistreatment of pregnant and postpartum employees, and other instances of retaliation and intimidation.” The allegations were uncovered after interviews with more than two dozen current and former Suns employees, according to ESPN.

“I remember when all this stuff came out about Robert, I thought, ‘Finally, but when are others going to be held accountable,’” an anonymous female former employee told ESPN.

Rowley joined the Suns organization in 2007 and became team president five years later. Previously, he was an attorney at Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer LLP. Alleged incidents arose early in Rowley’s tenure with the Suns, multiple former employees said, according to ESPN. Rowley verbally berated multiple female employees during his tenure with the organizations, according to ESPN.

The report also details an alleged incident where “a woman faced difficulty in trying to get her maternity leave approved and was fired shortly after she returned from maternity 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.”

A former employee noted that one of the executives who sought to have the woman terminated while on maternity leave was Rowley, according to the report.

The report also details the team president berating security guards at the team’s arena after stopping Rowley and his wife at the main entrance.

The alleged misconduct continued within the organization with other executives holding pregnancies against female staffers.

About a month after a pregnant female employee returned to the office, Suns chief revenue officer Dan Costello told her, “You and your husband need to have a discussion about who’s going to take care of your kids, because you can’t work here and do both,” according to the report.

The report detailed that Costello and Doug Chisholm, the Suns’ VP of business operations, allegedly refused to make any accommodations for her pregnancy, two former employees said, and asked for a doctor’s note if she needed to cut back her hours.

“While we want to support you personally, we can’t do it professionally,” Chisholm told the employee.

The woman was demoted and left soon after, two former employees said.

Potential punishments to the CEO, CRO and CFO would still have to be approved by Sarver. Per the report, interim governor Sam Garvin doesn’t have the power to fire Rowley, Costello or chief financial officer Jim Pitman.

In reaction to the ESPN report, the Suns organization wrote in a statement “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.”

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