Does the NBA Have a Bully Problem?
Owners who act badly can expect sympathetic treatment and a departure that’s more or less on their terms.
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Episode Notes
Last week, Robert Sarver, the owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, announced he would be selling both teams. The decision came after ESPN revealed nearly two decades of harassing behavior by Sarver, and after the NBA slapped him with a one-year suspension and $10 million fine. How was Sarver’s bullying able to go unchecked for so long? Does his departure signal a positive step forward for professional U.S. basketball, or a continuation of the status quo?
Guest: Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor of Black studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and co-host of the feminist sports podcast, Burn It All Down.
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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Elena Schwartz, Carmel Delshad, and Madeline Ducharme, with help from Anna Phillips and Jared Downing.