Attorney explains the process of Suns, Sarver investigation

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Phoenix Suns Owner Robert Sarver is being accused of sexism and racism by over 70 current and former team employees. It was all detailed in a lengthy ESPN article. The NBA says they are opening a investigation to look into the claims- it’s something Sarver welcomes.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he is denying the allegations and that he wants this to be fully investigated and wants the truth to come out that’s because he believes he didn’t do anything wrong,” said David Weinstein an attorney with Jones Walker LLP.

Weinstein has worked internal investigations before and says the process is no different than an internal investigation for any other company. He says they all start the same way, by hiring an outside law firm to investigate.

“They’re going to start looking at documents, they’re going to ask the suns to give them access to text messages, to emails and they’re going to start drilling down into find out what happened here,” said Weinstein.

Weinstein says the Sun’s apparent willingness to cooperate should help the collection process run more smoothly and quickly.

“Once they’ve collected statements they’re going to compare statements from different people,” said Weinstein. “They’re going to put together a timeline and some sort of factual basis to determine who is telling the truth here.”

“You have to gauge how readily they answer the question, how they recall the conversation that took place, body language,” said Weinstein. “It comes down to that person’s truth credibility.”

But, even after the legal process is complete, Weinstein says there may still be a lack of clarity.

“We may find out he did say these things and he just didn’t think it was offensive to anybody,” said Weinstein. “Be careful what you ask for you may regret having asked for it.”

Weinstein says investigators will likely talk to just about everyone in the organization from the janitors, to ticket sales people to the basketball superstars. He says this is a way for investigators to ensure they find out what is happening internally, beyond game days.

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