Suns Owner Robert Sarver Retiring As Executive Chairman of Western Alliance Bank

The executive has been under league investigation amid allegations of racism and misogyny.

Suns owner Robert Sarver will be retiring as executive chairman of Western Alliance Bancorporation in June, the company announced on April 7.

Sarver, who also owns the WNBA’s Mercury, has been with the company for 20 years. The company also announced Steve Hilton, who is a minority owner of the Suns per ESPN, will be retiring as well, most recently serving as the director of its board of directors. 

“It’s been an honor to serve as executive chairman of Western Alliance Bancorporation,” Sarver said via a statement. “I want to offer my sincere appreciation to our employees, whose hard work and dedication have allowed us to achieve so much during my 20 years with the company. With the company well positioned for continued success and growth, the time is right for me to begin a new chapter. I will always cherish and be grateful for the experiences I have had and relationships I have made during my time at Western Alliance. I have the utmost confidence in the executive team and the oversight of our highly experienced and capable Board moving forward.”

Sarver’s retirement comes amid the NBA’s investigation into him and the Suns, which the league launched last November after ESPN published a story detailing extensive accounts of alleged racism, misogyny and verbally abusive behavior by the majority owner in Phoenix.

Sarver has denied most of the allegations, and says he welcomes the investigation. 

While Western Alliance Bancorporation did not address the NBA’s investigation in its statement about the reasons or the timing of the announcement of Sarver’s retirement, the news comes after the bank launched its own probe into Sarver’s behavior earlier this year.

In January, Western Alliance Bancorporation CEO and President Kenneth Vecchione told investors on an earnings call that directors of the company board had hired an independent outside law firm, Munger, Toller & Olsen to help conduct their own investigation.

The findings of the bank’s investigation were not released.

As for the ongoing NBA probe led by Wachtell Lipton law firm, the investigation is still ongoing. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked about the progress of the investigation following the league’s board of governor meetings last week.

“I mean, these types of investigations do take a lot of time. You want to ensure that you gather all the facts, and you also want to ensure that you protect the rights of the accused,” Silver said. “And so we want to err on the side of being very complete. So we’re certainly closer to the end than the beginning, but it’s hard to put a precise timeline on it right now.”

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• Social Justice Activists Demand the Removal of Robert Sarver
• Newly Surfaced Video Shows Robert Sarver Making Sexual Jokes at Memorial ‘Roast’