Former Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson spoke about the two-week ultimatum owner Robert Sarver explicitly gave him to quit his job.
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A recent ESPN article has just gone viral talking about Robert Sarver and all his racist and misogynistic comments over the past few years.
For all those who don’t know, Sarver, a successful American businessman, has been the owner of the Phoenix Suns, since purchasing the franchise in 2004 for $400 million (valued at $1.8 billion today, according to Forbes).
According to the famous article, apart from using several derogatory racists slangs and numerous misogynistic comments, Robert even fired former Suns coach Earl Watson as the latter chose not to cut ties with Rich Paul, a black Klutch Sports agent.
Also Read: Robert Sarver under heavy fire as Suns owner’s racism gets exposed by in-depth ESPN article
Earl was reportedly given a 10-day ultimatum, and when confronted Sarver about the same, Robert said he was “f**king serious”. According to Watson, the 6-year-old businessman explicitly said:
“Yeah, I will f—ing fire you,” Sarver told Watson. “You have 10 days to think about it. Don’t wait too long.”
“Yeah, I understand what race you two are. So I’m asking you, How bad do you want your job?”
Despite the threat of losing his job, Watson outright stated he wasn’t going to be firing Rich.
“You can do whatever you want,” Watson said he told Sarver. “You own this team, but my culture is not for sale. And I’m not for sale.”
“Robert Sarver gave me a two-week ultimatum to quit the job”: Earl Watson”
A year after being let go from his head coach position, Earl Watson sat down with Chris Haynes and spoke about the infamous ultimatum he had been given by Sarver warning the league about the Suns’ owner’s attitude.
Chris asked, “You were let go what 3 games into the season last year?
Earl answered, “Yeah third game in, but I knew two weeks before that I had a two-week ultimatum or to either accept the ultimatum or eventually be let go. And I obviously chose to be let go.”
Chris: “Ultimatum?”
Earl: “Ultimatum. I’m not going to get into the details but I knew I had two weeks and for me, I couldn’t do it. It was bigger than basketball for me.”
Chris: “This ultimatum. Who was this ultimatum by?”
Earl: “Obviously the Suns, the ownership.”
Chris: “Is it something the team was aware of?”
Earl: “I mean it’s no secrets in the NBA, like in the league. There are no secrets, especially in the team. You know, things are always creeping into the locker room that’s why you see a lot of times when coaches or teams are fluctuating. A lot of times it’s never on the court. It’s the locker room and kinda conversations on what goes on behind the scene.”
The NBA has developed a lot over the past few decades. The league has a strict tolerance when it comes to racism and misogyny. And with the way things are looking right now, it seems like the ownership position for the Phoenix Suns will soon be vacant.
