Ethics and Official Misconduct

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      The Young Pistons Are Trying to Bring Back That ‘Bad Boys’ Feeling

      by

      The rebuild in Detroit could finally turn the corner this year behind Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.WASHINGTON — It was early in the fourth quarter, and the Detroit Pistons were attempting to come back from a double-digit deficit against the Wizards. Kevin Knox, a 23-year-old forward, committed an unnecessary defensive foul. Pistons Coach Dwane Casey’s head snapped downward ever so slightly, as if he were trying to suppress his frustration.On the next play, Knox committed another foul — this time against the star guard Bradley Beal on a step-back jumper. Beal hit the shot and the free throw. Now, Casey, in his 14th year as a head coach, was expressionless.This has been the job for him with the Pistons — being tolerant of mistakes. As much as he can let himself be. Growing pains, he calls them.“They’re going to make mistakes,” Casey said after the game Tuesday. “When you were a young writer, you probably made some mistakes in your writing. And it’s the same thing. Guys are going to make young mistakes.”The next night, the Pistons played the Atlanta Hawks much closer, but a series of mistakes down the stretch meant another loss, part of a 1-4 start to the season. Still, the kids are all right. Not good, mind you — not yet. But the Pistons are not expected to be terrible either, a shift from the last decade or so of Detroit basketball.The current roster — among the youngest in the N.B.A. — is filled with potential stars who are giving the fan base hope during a multiyear rebuild now purportedly entering its next phase. Leading the charge are Cade Cunningham, the first pick of the 2021 draft, and Jaden Ivey, the fifth pick of this year’s draft. If all goes well, Cunningham and Ivey could be the next great N.B.A. backcourt. However, that requires everything to go right — and most N.B.A. rebuilds do not.But first, don’t call it a rebuild. The Pistons brass has taken to calling the process a restoration.“Detroit’s been great,” Pistons General Manager Troy Weaver said. “My dad used to restore older cars, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”Weaver said there had been “two great iterations” of Pistons: Isiah Thomas’s Bad Boys in the late 1980s, who won two championships, and the early 2000s team with Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace, who won in 2004. Both versions were defined by a hard-nosed, not-always-pretty style of play.“We want to model that,” Weaver said. “A lot of people want to come in and reinvent the wheel. We want to stay true to what works in Detroit.”Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups and teammates celebrated winning the 2004 N.B.A. championship.Paul Sancya/Associated PressAs that process continues, the team is also dealing with internal turmoil: Rob Murphy, the Pistons’ assistant general manager and the president and general manager of the franchise’s G League team, is on leave and under investigation for possible workplace misconduct, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak about the investigation. Murphy joined the franchise in March 2021, about a year after Weaver came to Detroit.When Weaver was named general manager in June 2020, he took over a franchise that had been to the playoffs only twice since 2009 and hadn’t won a playoff series since 2008. For more than a decade, the team had been directionless, led by ill-fitting sort-of stars like Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. Weaver rapidly cleared out veterans with long-term contracts, such as the former All-Star forward Blake Griffin, and began to rebuild, er, restore. There are no players left from the team Weaver took over, a head-spinning roster turnover.“I didn’t expect it to be a whole new team,” Weaver said. “I thought it’d be a gradual process.”Cade Cunningham was the first pick of the 2021 draft.Rick Osentoski/Getty ImagesRebuilding in the N.B.A. usually comes in three phases. 1. Clear out dead-weight contracts. (Check!) 2. Accumulate high draft picks and use them on talented young players — which means losing a lot of games. (Check!) 3. Find success by trading developing players for stars (2008 Boston Celtics) or by watching those players become stars (the current Golden State dynasty).Point No. 3 is always the hardest, and many teams have failed. The Pistons have assembled a talented core, centered on Cunningham — fortuitous draft luck — and Ivey. Cunningham, a 21-year-old in his second year, has shown flashes of stardom. After a slow start during his rookie year, he averaged 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game on 45.7 percent shooting over his final 20 games. He’s skilled at getting into the paint but has struggled with his jump shot. Cunningham seems to have embraced his role as franchise cornerstone, frequently being the first one off the bench to encourage teammates.“I feel like if I win games and I continue to help grow the organization, that will take us to another level and take my game and my social life in Detroit to another level,” Cunningham said.The 20-year-old Ivey has been an impactful player in the starting lineup already, averaging 16.0 points and 5.5 assists per game on 48 percent shooting in four games. He’s a creative finisher in the paint and is showing surprising 3-point shooting prowess (42.9 percent), despite not being a particularly strong shooter in his two seasons at Purdue University.Jaden Ivey has been an impactful player, averaging 16 points and 5.5 assists per game in four games.Carlos Osorio/Associated PressOther young players have shown potential, too. Forward Saddiq Bey, 23, dropped 51 points in a game last year. Center Jalen Duren, drafted eight picks after Ivey, has started his career on a strong note as well — averaging 8.2 points and 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in only 21.4 minutes a game. He is the youngest active player in the N.B.A.Wins have, however, been hard to come by. Isaiah Stewart, a talented but raw 21-year-old center, is prone to lapses on defense. Against the Wizards on Tuesday, Stewart repeatedly left Kristaps Porzingis, a strong shooting big man, wide open from the perimeter, which Porzingis exploited. The next night, Atlanta’s Trae Young kept maneuvering into the paint for his patented floater, while Stewart repeatedly sagged off instead of aggressively contesting. Young finished with an easy-looking 35 points.Other young players are showing potential, too, including the 23-year-old forward Saddiq Bey.Doug Mcschooler/Associated PressLast season, Detroit finished with one of the worst records in the N.B.A. at 23-59. This year, if restoration continues according to plan, the Pistons should be significantly better.“We want to be competitive,” Weaver said. “Finally feel like we’re at ground zero. Now, we’re going to be competitive every night. We finally have enough depth to be able to do that.”But this is where rebuilding plans can go awry. Developing a young core requires patience, but the N.B.A. is a business: Detroit ranked near the bottom of the league in attendance last year, according to ESPN, and has already done a lot of losing this century.“The league is not going to wait for you just because you’re a young team,” said Cory Joseph, 31, one of the older players on the team.Coaches and general managers can feel pressure to win games — a natural byproduct of being in the world of competitive sports — but Weaver insisted that the organization was willing to be patient, regardless of the standings. There is a plan.“Every morning, you want to drink a cup of urgency, and at night you want to drink a cup of patience,” Weaver said, adding: “You’ve got to let it organically happen. And I think a lot of teams, they shortcut the process. They get impatient with process. We won’t do that.” More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Soccer

      Takeaways From the Report on Abuse in Women’s Soccer

      by

      The report focused on three coaches who have been accused of abuse and criticized the inaction of leaders at U.S. Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League.A report published Monday detailed “systemic” verbal abuse and sexual misconduct by coaches at the highest levels of women’s soccer in the United States, and found that leaders in the United States Soccer Federation, the National Women’s Soccer League and throughout American soccer had failed to act over the years on reports from players.The report was commissioned by U.S. Soccer, which asked Sally Q. Yates, a former U.S. deputy attorney general, and the law firm King & Spalding to lead an investigation after news media reports documented accusations of sexual and verbal abuse against N.W.S.L. coaches.The report focuses on three coaches — Christy Holly, Paul Riley and Rory Dames — highlighting a history of sexual misconduct allegations against them and executives’ failure to investigate and act on the accusations. It also warned that girls face abuse in youth soccer.Riley and Dames did not respond to requests for comment Monday, and Holly declined to comment. Holly spoke with investigators and denied some, but not all, of the claims made against him. Through his lawyer, Dames declined to speak with investigators. Riley agreed to provide written responses but never did.Here are six takeaways from the report:Christy HollyHolly was fired as the coach of Racing Louisville F.C. last year, during the team’s inaugural season, with minimal public explanation from the team. While accusations against Riley and Dames had been detailed in news media reports, the accusations against Holly were not publicly known.Christy Holly, left, was coach of Racing Louisville F.C.Getty ImagesThe report found that Holly’s misconduct while coaching Louisville included sexual contact, inappropriate text messages, abuse of power and retaliation. In one instance, Holly invited a player to his home to watch game film but instead masturbated in front of her and showed her pornography. While watching game film with the player on a separate occasion, Holly groped the player’s breasts and genitals whenever the film showed she had made a mistake.Holly also sent the player nude pictures of himself and asked her to send sexual pictures of herself to him, according to the report. The player said that she felt “guilted” and “forced” to send photos. The player told investigators that “Holly constantly reminded her to ‘loosen up,’ telling her that having ‘fun’ with him would improve her performance on the field.”Paul RileyAnother narrative in the report centers on Paul Riley, who was fired from the North Carolina Courage last year. The report found that Riley had “leveraged his position” to coerce at least three players into sexual relationships.“Paul Riley’s abuse was prolonged and wide-ranging,” the report said. “It spanned multiple leagues, teams and players. It included emotional misconduct, abuse of power and sexual misconduct.”Paul Riley was coach of the North Carolina Courage.Getty ImagesOne player said Riley made sexual advances toward her on several occasions. In one instance, the player said, Riley asked her to watch game film in his hotel room. When the player arrived at his room, she said, Riley answered the door wearing only underwear and told her to get on the bed. The player said she left once she realized that there was no game film on the television.“I just didn’t feel safe,” the player said. “I didn’t enjoy playing. It was a bad situation.”Rory DamesThe report also details accusations against Rory Dames, who resigned from the Chicago Red Stars last year and was also coach of the Chicago Eclipse Select youth soccer team. It found that he created a “sexualized team environment” at the youth club that “crossed the line to sexual relationships in multiple cases, though those relationships may have begun after the age of consent.” It also said that he verbally abused his players and that he joked about the age of consent for sexual activity.Rory Dames was coach of the Chicago Red Stars.Getty ImagesOne player who played for Dames on the Eclipse team said that on one occasion, Dames offered her a ride home from practice and asked her questions about sex. The player said that Dames “wouldn’t take me home until I answered the questions.”The report also said that it was not uncommon for Dames to spend time alone with girls from youth teams without another adult present, including in their childhood bedrooms.Lack of oversightThe report also detailed how allegations of abuse or misconduct were often not fully investigated. When they were, the accused coaches later had opportunities to coach elsewhere. The report found that several investigations across the league “failed to successfully root out misconduct.”After the 2015 N.W.S.L. season, one player reported Riley’s sexual misconduct to the Portland Thorns, where he was then coaching, and the league. The Thorns conducted an investigation that lasted one week, and Riley was promptly terminated from the team. But the Thorns did not inform their players, other teams or the public about the reason for Riley’s termination. Riley was later hired by another women’s league team.The report said that several players tried to raise concerns about Dames over the years, including in 2014, 2015 and 2018. A report by the United States Women’s National Team Players Association in 2018 prompted Lydia Wahlke, U.S. Soccer’s chief legal officer, to hire outside counsel to investigate Dames. By October 2018, the investigation had found that Dames created “a cycle of emotional abuse and manipulation” at the Chicago Red Stars. But Wahlke did not share the findings with the Red Stars or the N.W.S.L.One player said she had realized that reporting Dames’s conduct “was a lost cause.”Youth soccerThe investigation did not directly examine youth soccer in the United States, but the report found several instances of verbal and sexual abuse of players.“The culture of tolerating verbal abuse of players goes beyond the N.W.S.L.,” the report said. “Players also told us that their experiences of verbal abuse and blurred relationships with coaches in youth soccer impacted their ability to discern what was out of bounds in the N.W.S.L.”One example cited in the report details an anonymous complaint that Riley had created an “unsafe environment” in his F.C. Fury Development Academy girls’ program and that a coach in the program had “inappropriately touched a minor player.” The person making the complaint said that Riley had not reported the incident and expressed “fear of reprisal from Riley for speaking out,” adding that Riley is “known to be vindictive to anyone who crossed him.”RecommendationsAmong its recommendations, the report said that teams should be required to disclose coaches’ misconduct to their leagues to ensure that the coaches cannot move freely from one team to another, and that the N.W.S.L. should be required to meaningfully vet its coaches and investigate allegations of misconduct.The report also recommended that the N.W.S.L. conduct an annual training for players and coaches on issues of misconduct and harassment, and that teams designate an individual responsible for player safety.The report also advised U.S. Soccer to examine whether it should institute other measures in youth soccer to protect young players. More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Soccer

      6 Takeaways From the Report on Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Soccer

      by

      The report focused on three coaches who have been accused of abuse and the lack of action by leaders at U.S. Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League.A report published Monday detailed “systemic” verbal abuse and sexual misconduct by coaches at the highest levels of women’s soccer in the United States, and found that leaders in the United States Soccer Federation, the National Women’s Soccer League and throughout American soccer had failed to act over the years on reports from players.The report was commissioned by U.S. Soccer, which asked Sally Q. Yates, a former U.S. deputy attorney general, and the law firm King & Spalding to lead an investigation after news media reports documented accusations of sexual and verbal abuse against N.W.S.L. coaches.The report focuses on three coaches — Christy Holly, Paul Riley and Rory Dames — highlighting a history of sexual misconduct allegations against them and executives’ failure to investigate and act on the accusations. It also warned that girls face abuse in youth soccer.Riley and Dames did not respond to requests for comment Monday, and Holly declined to comment. Holly spoke with investigators and denied some, but not all, of the claims made against him. Through his lawyer, Dames declined to speak with investigators. Riley agreed to provide written responses but never did.Here are six takeaways from the report:Christy HollyHolly was fired as the coach of Racing Louisville F.C. last year, during the team’s inaugural season, with minimal public explanation from the team. While accusations against Riley and Dames had been detailed in news media reports, the accusations against Holly were not publicly known.Christy Holly, left, was coach of Racing Louisville F.C.Getty ImagesThe report found that Holly’s misconduct while coaching Louisville included sexual contact, inappropriate text messages, abuse of power and retaliation. In one instance, Holly invited a player to his home to watch game film but instead masturbated in front of her and showed her pornography. While watching game film with the player on a separate occasion, Holly groped the player’s breasts and genitals whenever the film showed she had made a mistake.Holly also sent the player nude pictures of himself and asked her to send sexual pictures of herself to him, according to the report. The player said that she felt “guilted” and “forced” to send photos. The player told investigators that “Holly constantly reminded her to ‘loosen up,’ telling her that having ‘fun’ with him would improve her performance on the field.”Paul RileyAnother narrative in the report centers on Paul Riley, who was fired from the North Carolina Courage last year. The report found that Riley had “leveraged his position” to coerce at least three players into sexual relationships.“Paul Riley’s abuse was prolonged and wide-ranging,” the report said. “It spanned multiple leagues, teams and players. It included emotional misconduct, abuse of power and sexual misconduct.”Paul Riley was coach of the North Carolina Courage.Getty ImagesOne player said Riley made sexual advances toward her on several occasions. In one instance, the player said, Riley asked her to watch game film in his hotel room. When the player arrived at his room, she said, Riley answered the door wearing only underwear and told her to get on the bed. The player said she left once she realized that there was no game film on the television.“I just didn’t feel safe,” the player said. “I didn’t enjoy playing. It was a bad situation.”Rory DamesThe report also details accusations against Rory Dames, who resigned from the Chicago Red Stars last year and was also coach of the Chicago Eclipse Select youth soccer team. It found that he created a “sexualized team environment” at the youth club that “crossed the line to sexual relationships in multiple cases, though those relationships may have begun after the age of consent.” It also said that he verbally abused his players and that he joked about the age of consent for sexual activity.Rory Dames was coach of the Chicago Red Stars.Getty ImagesOne player who played for Dames on the Eclipse team said that on one occasion, Dames offered her a ride home from practice and asked her questions about sex. The player said that Dames “wouldn’t take me home until I answered the questions.”The report also said that it was not uncommon for Dames to spend time alone with girls from youth teams without another adult present, including in their childhood bedrooms.Lack of oversightThe report also detailed how allegations of abuse or misconduct were often not fully investigated. When they were, the accused coaches later had opportunities to coach elsewhere. The report found that several investigations across the league “failed to successfully root out misconduct.”After the 2015 N.W.S.L. season, one player reported Riley’s sexual misconduct to the Portland Thorns, where he was then coaching, and the league. The Thorns conducted an investigation that lasted one week, and Riley was promptly terminated from the team. But the Thorns did not inform their players, other teams or the public about the reason for Riley’s termination. Riley was later hired by another women’s league team.The report said that several players tried to raise concerns about Dames over the years, including in 2014, 2015 and 2018. A report by the United States Women’s National Team Players Association in 2018 prompted Lydia Wahlke, U.S. Soccer’s chief legal officer, to hire outside counsel to investigate Dames. By October 2018, the investigation had found that Dames created “a cycle of emotional abuse and manipulation” at the Chicago Red Stars. But Wahlke did not share the findings with the Red Stars or the N.W.S.L.One player said she had realized that reporting Dames’s conduct “was a lost cause.”Youth soccerThe investigation did not directly examine youth soccer in the United States, but the report found several instances of verbal and sexual abuse of players.“The culture of tolerating verbal abuse of players goes beyond the N.W.S.L.,” the report said. “Players also told us that their experiences of verbal abuse and blurred relationships with coaches in youth soccer impacted their ability to discern what was out of bounds in the N.W.S.L.”One example cited in the report details an anonymous complaint that Riley had created an “unsafe environment” in his F.C. Fury Development Academy girls’ program and that a coach in the program had “inappropriately touched a minor player.” The person making the complaint said that Riley had not reported the incident and expressed “fear of reprisal from Riley for speaking out,” adding that Riley is “known to be vindictive to anyone who crossed him.”RecommendationsAmong its recommendations, the report said that teams should be required to disclose coaches’ misconduct to their leagues to ensure that the coaches cannot move freely from one team to another, and that the N.W.S.L. should be required to meaningfully vet its coaches and investigate allegations of misconduct.The report also recommended that the N.W.S.L. conduct an annual training for players and coaches on issues of misconduct and harassment, and that teams designate an individual responsible for player safety.The report also advised U.S. Soccer to examine whether it should institute other measures in youth soccer to protect young players. More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Boston Celtics Players ‘Shocked’ by Coach Ime Udoka’s Suspension

      by

      Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown said they had not spoken to Coach Ime Udoka since the team announced his full-season suspension on Thursday.CANTON, Mass. — Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics said he was preparing for the start of training camp last week when he learned that Ime Udoka, the team’s head coach, could have been facing a lengthy suspension. But Tatum was not privy to any inside information, he said. So, how did he learn the news?“On Twitter,” he said. “Like everybody else.”Tatum was among the Celtics players who, on Monday, spoke publicly for the first time since the team announced Thursday that it had suspended Udoka for the 2022-23 N.B.A. season for unspecified “violations of team policies.” One by one, the players appeared on a dais for the team’s media day and, facing a bank of cameras and reporters, said they knew little about what had led to Udoka’s punishment.Marcus Smart: “It’s been hell for us. Just caught by surprise. No one really knows anything, so we’re just in the wind like everybody else. Last couple of days have been confusing.”Jaylen Brown: “Nobody really has any of the information.”Grant Williams: “I don’t know the facts.”For the players, Udoka’s absence — along with the secretive nature of the investigation into his misconduct — has been a troubling development as they try to reorient themselves for another crack at a championship run after losing to Golden State in the N.B.A. finals last season.One person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly about it said Udoka had an inappropriate relationship with a female team employee. Another person who had been briefed said that Udoka’s violations involved one woman.Boston’s Jaylen Brown, left, is in his seventh season with the Celtics. He was the team’s second-leading scorer last season, Udoka’s first as head coach.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images“As far as initial reactions, I think we were all shocked at what was going on — a little confused,” Brown said. “But a lot of the information wasn’t being shared with us, or with members of the team, so I can’t really comment on it.”A Celtics spokesman declined to say how many violations there were.In a news conference last week, Wyc Grousbeck, the team’s majority owner, cited “privacy reasons” in declining to elaborate on the nature of Udoka’s misconduct. The Celtics’ decision to suspend Udoka came after a monthslong investigation by an independent law firm, Grousbeck said.On Monday, Tatum, Brown and Smart were among the team’s high-profile players who indicated that they did not know about the investigation while it was happening. In fact, Smart said, Udoka had recently visited him and a couple of teammates in Los Angeles. Smart was asked if anything about Udoka’s behavior struck him as unusual while he was in California.“Not to me,” he said. “I think that’s why we got so caught off guard, because it just seemed so normal.”Vague reports about Udoka’s situation emerged on social media Wednesday. At a team meeting the following day, few details were shared with players, Tatum said.“There wasn’t any more information that we found out than the things you guys heard,” Tatum said, adding: “It’s hard for me to answer if things were handled the right way or if they weren’t because, I guess for a lot of reasons, I don’t know all the details. I just don’t know.”Tatum and Brown, the team’s top two scorers last season, both said they had not spoken with Udoka since he was suspended. “It’s a lot to process,” Tatum said.Joe Mazzulla, 34, whom the Celtics hired as an assistant in 2019, will be the team’s interim head coach this season. Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations and Udoka’s predecessor, said last week that Mazzulla was the best choice for the role “by a long shot.” Mazzulla, who played college basketball at West Virginia, was previously the head coach at Fairmont State, a Division II college in West Virginia.As a college player, Mazzulla twice pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges, according to multiple news reports at the time — first, when he was accused of scuffling with police at a Pittsburgh Pirates game, and later after he was accused of grabbing a woman at a bar.“Listen, I’ve made mistakes,” Mazzulla said Monday. “I’m not perfect. I’ve hurt people, and I’ve had to use the situations I put myself in as a younger man to learn from and become a better person. That’s what I’ve tried to focus on: How can I re-create my identity as a person? How can I rely on my faith? And how can I just have a positive impact on the people around me?”Brown, who was the subject of trade rumors in the off-season after Kevin Durant asked to be moved from the Nets, was among the players who offered Mazzulla a public vote of confidence.“I believe in Joe,” Brown said. “Joe believes in me. I’ve had conversations with him. I don’t think he sees a limit on my game. I think he’s coming in excited, so I’m optimistic.”Joe Mazzulla, who had been an assistant coach for the Celtics since 2019, will be the interim head coach during Udoka’s suspension this season.Paul Rutherford/USA Today Sports, via ReutersMalcolm Brogdon, a veteran guard who was traded to the Celtics from the Indiana Pacers in July, said he was struck by Mazzulla’s self-discipline. Over the summer, Brogdon said, Mazzulla often beat the players to the team’s training center to lift weights each morning.One day, Mazzulla noticed that Brogdon was using a balloon to do breathing exercises. Mazzulla told Brogdon that he was a fan of breathing exercises, too.“He started explaining the theories behind them and the psychology of it,” Brogdon said. “So he’s a guy that’s paying attention to everything.”Still, Mazzulla acknowledged some of the realities of the situation: that people throughout the Celtics organization need time to “feel and heal,” that he never anticipated being in this position and that he likely will need to learn on the job.The players, too, seem aware of the challenges ahead of them.“Everything that we started to build,” Smart said, “is starting over in a sense.” More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      NBA Under Pressure to Remove Phoenix Suns Owner Robert Sarver

      by

      A sponsor, team owner and players are calling for a harsher penalty for Robert Sarver, the Phoenix Suns owner, after an investigation found he mistreated employees for years.Minutes before the N.B.A. announced the results of an independent investigation into Robert Sarver, the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, on Tuesday, a call took place between N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver and Tamika Tremaglio, the executive director of the players’ union.Silver told Tremaglio the report was coming and that, based on its findings, he’d given Sarver a $10 million fine and one-year suspension.It was one of many conversations they have had this week. Once Tremaglio had read the 43-page public report that said Sarver had used racial slurs and treated women unfairly, she met with players on the union’s executive committee. Then, she told Silver that a one-year suspension would not do. Sarver, she told him, should never return to the Suns.“We do have to step up; I have to protect our players,” Tremaglio said in an interview Friday. “In my mind, this is not protecting our players. We are putting them in a situation that we already know is toxic if we were to permit that.”She said Silver had said he understood.“I think he also was torn with regards to what needed to be done,” Tremaglio said.Tremaglio and N.B.A. players aren’t alone in wanting Sarver out of the N.B.A. for good. A prominent sponsor and a Suns minority owner also have called for Sarver to no longer be involved with the team, part of mounting pressure for a dissolution of the relationship between Sarver and the N.B.A. Sarver also owns the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury.“I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans to think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege,” Jahm Najafi, a Suns vice chairman and minority owner, said in an open letter to employees and fans Thursday calling for Sarver to resign.PayPal, which has a logo patch on the Suns jerseys, said Friday it would not renew its sponsorship after the 2022-23 season if Sarver were involved with the team after his suspension.Dan Schulman, PayPal’s president and chief executive, said in a statement that Sarver’s conduct was “unacceptable and in conflict with our values.”What to Know: Robert Sarver Misconduct CaseCard 1 of 6A suspension and a fine. More

    • 125 Shares109 Views

      in Basket

      NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Defends 1-Year Suspension for Owner’s Misconduct

      by

      Adam Silver, the league’s commissioner, said the suspension and $10 million fine were fair, considering the “totality” of the career of Robert Sarver, who owns Phoenix’s N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. teams.N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday defended the one-year suspension and $10 million fine assessed to Robert Sarver, the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, who was found after an independent investigation to have mistreated employees over more than a decade.Despite calls for harsher penalties, Silver said the suspension and fine were fair punishments for Sarver’s misconduct, which included using racial slurs, yelling at employees and treating female employees unfairly, according to the report. Silver said he had not talked to Sarver about his voluntarily selling his team because of his behavior, nor had the league’s board of governors discussed terminating Sarver’s ownership.“From a personal standpoint, I was in disbelief to a certain extent about what I learned that had transpired over the last 18 years in the Suns organization,” Silver said. “I was saddened by it, disheartened. I want to again apologize to the former, and in some cases current, employees of the Phoenix Suns for what they had to experience. There is absolutely no excuse for it. And we addressed it.”Sarver is also the majority owner of the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury.Silver spoke to reporters one day after the league released a 43-page report from the New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz that detailed Sarver’s repeated use of racial slurs, mistreatment of employees, bullying and unfair treatment of female employees over nearly two decades as the owner of the Suns and the Mercury. Silver said the investigative group was diverse in race and gender, but he was unsure of the demographic breakdown. The law firm reviewed thousands of pages of documents and interviewed hundreds of current and former employees.Chris Paul, the Suns’ All-Star point guard, said in a post on Twitter late Wednesday that he was “horrified and disappointed” by the actions outlined in the report.“This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated,” he said. “I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected.”Silver used the firm’s findings to determine what punishment Sarver deserved. He meted out the maximum fine allowable by the league’s constitution, but not the longest suspension.“I had the option to go longer,” Silver said. “I landed on one year. I will say it’s the second-longest suspension in the history of our league, just to put it in some sort of context.”Robert Sarver, center, the majority owner of the Suns and the Mercury, was found to have used racial slurs and treated women unfairly over several years.Ralph Freso/Associated PressThe harshest penalty the league has ever levied on a team owner came in 2014 when Donald Sterling, then the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was barred for life after he made racist remarks about Black people in a private conversation and a recording of his comments was made public.At the time, Silver said the punishment was based solely on that one incident, and that he would recommend that the board of governors vote to terminate Sterling’s ownership. Ultimately, though, Rochelle Sterling sold the team, despite her husband’s efforts to prevent her from doing so.Asked why he did not go as far with Sarver, Silver called Donald Sterling’s and Sarver’s situations “dramatically different.”“What we saw in the case of Donald Sterling was blatant racist conduct directed at a select group of people,” Silver said.When it came to Sarver, Silver said, the “totality of circumstances over an 18-year period in which he’s owned these teams” didn’t warrant the same punishment.Later Wednesday, LeBron James wrote on Twitter, “I gotta be honest … Our league definitely got this wrong.”James, who stars for the Los Angeles Lakers, continued: “I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.”Silver said he had heard from players in the last 24 hours but would allow them to speak for themselves.“It’s beyond the pale in every possible way to use language and behave that way,” Silver said of Sarver’s behavior. But he added: “Remember, while there were these terrible things, there were also many, many people who had very positive things to say about him through this process.”Despite detailing several instances in which Sarver made women and Black people feel demeaned, the investigators said they did not find that Sarver’s actions were motivated by “racial or gender-based animus.”Silver paused when asked if he agreed with that assessment.“I accept their work,” Silver said. “To follow what we believe is appropriate process here, to bring in a law firm, to have them spend essentially nine months on this, to do the extensive kinds of interviews they can, I’m not able to put myself in their shoes. I respect the work they’ve done, we’ve done.”The public report did not explain how the investigators determined that Sarver’s actions were not motivated by racial or gender-based animus, but Silver said that the report represented only part of the findings. He said he was given more information, but to protect the privacy of those who had participated in the investigation he could not reveal more.“Let me reiterate: The conduct is indefensible,” Silver said. “But I feel we dealt with it in a fair manner, both taking into account the totality of the circumstances, not just those particular allegations but the 18 years in which Mr. Sarver has owned the Suns and the Mercury.”Silver was speaking after a meeting of the league’s board of governors in Manhattan. The board typically meets three times a year, including once before the start of the regular season. This week’s meeting lasted three days and included discussion about the investigation.When asked about the discrepancy between how Sarver is being treated, in being allowed to remain an N.B.A. owner, and how employees of most companies would be treated had they behaved similarly, Silver pointed to a different standard for team owners.“There’s no neat answer here, other than owning property, the rights that come with owning an N.B.A. team, how that’s set up within our constitution, what it would take to remove that team from his control is a very involved process, and it’s different than holding a job,” Silver said. “It just is, when you actually own a team. It’s just a very different proposition.”When asked what standards he would expect league owners to meet, Silver said each case must be considered individually.Silver made references to Sarver’s misconduct having been part of his past, and spoke of the positive changes he felt had been made in the Suns organization. But many of the incidents confirmed by investigators happened recently. For example, the report found an incident of Sarver making inappropriate sexual remarks in 2021, and one of the instances in which investigators confirmed that Sarver had used a racial slur occurred in 2016.Although the investigation has closed, Silver said this will not be the end of the league’s concern about Sarver’s actions.“In terms of future behavior, he’s on notice,” Silver said. “He knows that.” More

    • 125 Shares139 Views

      in Tennis

      Top Official Returns to the U.S. Open After Misconduct Suspension

      by

      Soeren Friemel served a one-year suspension and lost a top officiating job for inappropriate communication with an underling. The decision to bring him back has rankled some colleagues.The people who officiate tennis matches are supposed to exist in a quiet corner of the sports world, far from the spotlight. In most cases, if average fans know the name of a tournament referee, supervisor, chair umpire or line judge, something has gone terribly wrong, creating rare noise within an insular club whose members value rules and decorum over all else.And so it has been for Soeren Friemel, a longtime top official for the U.S. Open, who stepped away last year amid an investigation into accusations of harassment and inappropriate relationships with underlings but has returned as a tournament supervisor.Earlier this year, Friemel, who is from Germany, resigned as the head of officiating for the International Tennis Federation, the sport’s world governing body, after a disciplinary panel found that he had abused his power.The United States Tennis Association initially stood by Friemel and planned to allow him to serve last year as the U.S. Open tournament referee — the top official at the event — as an investigation unfolded, but Friemel stepped away just before the competition. The tournament said he had to leave for “personal reasons.” The I.T.F. later suspended Friemel for a year, starting from June 2021.The U.S.T.A.’s decision this year to bring him back to serve as one of the tournament supervisors has rankled the small community of current and former tennis officials, even though it is a lesser job than the prestigious and more public-facing post of tournament referee. Some wonder whether a supervisor who has violated codes of conduct can effectively enforce them on others, even if they believe, at least theoretically, in second chances and forgiveness for poor behavior.The I.T.F. has not released details of complaints filed about Friemel, when and where they occurred, and who made them. The accuser has remained anonymous. Details of Friemel’s suspension was first reported by The Telegraph in Britain in February; his suspension from the I.T.F., which other tournaments honored, ended in mid-June.Heather Bowers, senior director of communications for the I.T.F., said an investigative panel “found Mr. Friemel to have made inappropriate comments and invitation to an individual in a situation of power imbalance, causing unease and discomfort.” The panel ruled that Friemel had violated sections of its codes that require officials to conduct themselves professionally and ethically; prohibit them from abusing a position of authority or control; and forbid them from compromising the psychological, physical or emotional health of other officials.Norm Chryst, who umpired men’s tournaments and Grand Slam events for 19 years before retiring in 2010, said the ruling should have disqualified Friemel from serving as an official for America’s signature tennis tournament.“A guy that has been suspended by the I.T.F. for misconduct should not be hired by the U.S.T.A. to work at the U.S. Open,” said Chryst, who had previously worked with Friemel at a tournament in Germany.Another top umpire resigned this spring from a top U.S.T.A. officiating committee over the decision to bring Friemel back. The umpire, Greg Allensworth, a fixture of the tours and Grand Slams, left his role as vice-chair of the U.S.T.A. Officials Committee. Allensworth sent a blistering letter to the chair of the committee, which The New York Times has reviewed, stating that Friemel had verbally abused him in 2018. He also wrote that the ruling from the I.T.F. had caused Friemel to lose credibility with his colleagues.“The U.S.T.A.’s decision on this matter is wrong, both practically and ethically,” wrote Allensworth, who declined to comment for this story.The U.S.T.A. did not make Friemel available for comment for this article. Chris Widmaier, the chief spokesman for the organization, issued a statement on behalf of the U.S.T.A. saying that Friemel had served his suspension and noting his experience as a top official, implying that his experience merited his assignment at the tournament.“In this instance, we determined that it was appropriate to bring Friemel back at a lower position, with less responsibility and authority, than he previously occupied,” the statement said. “We believe this decision is consistent with our unwavering commitment to the integrity of tennis and our policy requiring a workplace that is free of abuse, harassment, or other misconduct.”Friemel’s tenure at the top of the U.S.T.A.’s hierarchy of officials was rocky from the start. The U.S.T.A. had planned to give the U.S. Open tournament referee position to Mark Darby, a longtime official with the ATP, when Brian Earley stepped down in 2018 after 26 years in the role. But Darby pulled out five months before the 2019 tournament after being diagnosed with a serious illness. Widmaier said the organization needed to make a quick decision and turned to Friemel, who had served as the chief umpire for the U.S. Open from 2016 to 2018.American tennis officials were not pleased. Roughly a dozen of them wrote a letter to the U.S.T.A. complaining that the organization had overlooked several qualified Americans for the job. While the U.S.T.A. has a long history of hiring foreign talent throughout the organization, the officials argued that without a proper search and interview process, the U.S.T.A. had simply given away a top job at its signature event. The letter, which The New York Times has reviewed, was signed “USTA Umpires.”Friemel walked off the court with Novak Djokovic at the 2020 U.S. Open after Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament.Jason Szenes/EPA, via ShutterstockFriemel impressed U.S.T.A. executives with his performance at the 2019 U.S. Open, and then again at the pandemic-restricted 2020 Open. There, he made the decision to default Novak Djokovic — then the world No. 1, the heavy favorite to win the tournament and the men’s draw’s biggest star — after Djokovic accidentally swatted a ball into the throat of a line judge during his fourth-round match.Afterward, Friemel calmly explained the ruling, saying that while Djokovic had not intended to hit the line judge, because he had and she had suffered an injury, regulations required an automatic default.Widmaier said the U.S.T.A. had begun pursuing a plan to prepare Jake Garner, an American, to succeed Friemel as the tournament referee. But that process slowed amid the canceled tournaments and travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. Garner, who is one of two assistant referees this year, is expected to take over the top job from Wayne McKewen of Australia during the next two years, Widmaier said.For the time being, though, the U.S.T.A. remains committed to employing Friemel, even if he no longer has the anonymous existence that officials prefer to maintain.“My job was to be invisible,” said Chryst, the former chair umpire. “Because if you don’t know my name then I have done a good job.” More

    • 113 Shares189 Views

      in Tennis

      China's Peng Shuai Makes #MeToo Claim Against Zhang Gaoli

      by

      Peng Shuai’s accusation against Zhang Gaoli takes the country’s budding #MeToo movement to the top echelons of the Communist Party for the first time.Peng Shuai, the professional tennis star, publicly accused a former vice premier of China of sexual assault, igniting an online firestorm of attention to a #MeToo allegation that for the first time touched the pinnacles of Communist Party power.Ms. Peng made the allegation in a post on Tuesday night on her verified account on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. In it, she described an assault that began an on-and-off consensual relationship with Zhang Gaoli, who from 2012 to 2017 served on the party’s Politburo Standing Committee, the top ruling body in China.The post was removed within minutes, but the allegations swirled through the country’s heavily controlled internet, fueled by the fame of the accuser and the accused. That kept the censors inside China’s Great Firewall scrambling.Searches of her name and even the word “tennis” appeared to be blocked, reflecting the extraordinary sensitivity within China of discussing misconduct by party leaders.“The impact of #MeToo has been accumulating for three years,” Lü Pin, an activist who founded the now-banned Chinese online forum Feminist Voices, said in a telephone interview from New Jersey, where she now lives. “When the first women began talking about their experiences three years ago, no one could have imagined that it would reach this high level.”Ms. Peng’s accusations could not be corroborated. In her post, she acknowledged that she would be unable to produce evidence of her accusation, suggesting at one point that Mr. Zhang had expressed worries that she might record their encounters.She could not be reached for comment. The State Council, China’s governing body, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The authorities have charged government officials with sexual misconduct before, often in conjunction with corruption investigations. Never before, though, has an accusation of sexual misconduct been leveled publicly against as senior a political leader as Mr. Zhang.“These allegations are not shocking in substance but are shocking in the target,” Bill Bishop, the founder of Sinocism, a newsletter on Chinese affairs, wrote.Zhang Gaoli, the former vice premier, in 2014. As a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, Mr. Zhang was once one of the most powerful people in the country.Kim Kyung-Hoon/ReutersAn economist by education, Mr. Zhang, now 75, rose through the ranks of the party and government. He served as governor of Shandong, the coastal province, and then as party secretary in Tianjin, the provincial-level port city on the Bohai Sea. As vice premier from 2013 to 2018, he was one of seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, headed then, as now, by China’s leader, Xi Jinping.“I know that for someone of your eminence, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, you’ve said that you’re not afraid,” Ms. Peng wrote in her post, “but even if it’s just me, like an egg hitting a rock, or a moth to the flame, courting self-destruction, I’ll tell the truth about you.”Women in media, at universities and in the private sector in China have all come forward with accusations of sexual assault and harassment — only to face pushback in the courts and censorship online.In China, many women say, there remains an ingrained patriarchal tradition of using positions in business or government to gain sexual favors from subordinates or other women. In 2016, the country’s top prosecuting agency listed the exchange of “power for sex recklessly” as one of six traits of senior officials accused of corruption.The accuser in another high-profile harassment case, Zhou Xiaoxuan, posted a note expressing sympathy for Ms. Peng, illustrating how widely the accusation became known despite the censorship. “I hope she’s safe and sound,” she wrote.Ms. Zhou, who in 2018 accused a prominent television anchor of sexual harassment four years earlier, emerged as a trailblazer of China’s fledgling #MeToo movement and also a victim of the social and legal challenges women who come forward face. In September, a court in Beijing ruled that she had “tendered insufficient evidence” to prove her case against the anchor, Zhu Jun, who has sued her for slander.Mr. Zhang retired in 2018, when, according to Ms. Peng’s account, the two resumed a relationship that had begun when he served in Tianjin, which would have been between 2007 and 2012. She said he had first assaulted her after inviting her to play tennis with him and his wife. “I never consented that afternoon, crying all the time,” she wrote, not specifying when exactly the assault occurred.At the time she was soaring through a professional career that would propel her to a No. 1 ranking in doubles with the Women’s Tennis Association in 2014 and as high as 14th as a singles player.With her partner, Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan, she won the doubles championship at Wimbledon in 2013 and again at the French Open in 2014. That year, playing singles, she reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open. She remains ranked 189th in singles and 248th in doubles, last playing at the Qatar Total Open in February 2020, according to the association.She was one of the athletes who broke out of the country’s sports system, which mandates that most train under state coaches and give most of their earnings, even from endorsements, back to the state. She was one of the first to reach an agreement to allow her to train and travel by herself and keep a larger share of the earnings.Her post continued to circulate in screen shots and other messages even after it was deleted, a testament to the resonance accusations like hers has in Chinese society.“The censorship is not working,” Ms. Lü, the activist, said. She added that while it was important that people were discussing the issue, “changing policy is the most difficult part.”Chris Buckley More