NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the league's punishment of Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury managing partner Robert Sarver during a Wednesday press conference.

Silver told reporters he was in "disbelief to a certain extent" regarding the Suns' workplace culture, adding the punishment was appropriate for the "totality" of the situation.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced it suspended Sarver for one year and levied a $10 million fine after an independent investigation found he "engaged in conduct that clearly violated common workplace standards".

The investigation was conducted by the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz law firm and included interviews with 320 people and a review of more than 80,000 documents. The probe was sparked by a November 2021 article from ESPN's Baxter Holmes detailing Sarver's history of racism and misogyny.

The investigation's findings were summarized in a 43-page report and determined Sarver "said the N-word in repeating or purporting to repeat a Black person on at least five occasions during his tenure, including after being advised not to do so" and "made many sex-related comments in the workplace."

It also found that he "made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women" and "frequently engaged in demeaning and harsh treatment of employees—including by yelling and cursing at them."