Burn It All Down

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther break down the recent report on the behavior of Robert Sarver, owner of the Phoenix Mercury and Phoenix Suns basketball teams. But first, they talk about the retirement of tennis great Roger Federer. Then, they dig into a report released by a law firm and commissioned by the NBA to look into allegations of of Robert Sarver's sexist and racist violations of common work place standards. The NBA responded by fining Sarver $10 million and suspending him for one year. The team talks about the damning results including statements from over 100 individuals that witnessed many accounts of sexist, vulgar, and racist behavior by Sarver as well as how Sarver uses the WNBA team the Mercury as a shield for his actions. They also discuss reactions from players, sponsors, and the league, as well as comparable cases of deplorable owners, like Donald Sterling, in recent years. Following this discussion, they preview a special Patreon segment about NBA commissioner Adam Silver's disappointing reaction to the report on Sarver, saying team owners are held to different standards than everyone else. Then, you'll here a preview of this week's interview with Sabreena Merchant, basketball writer for SB Nation, on a WNBA finals recap and budding off season storylines. Next, they burn some of the worst in sports this week on the Burn Pile. Then, they celebrate those shining light, including Torchbearers of the Week, the Las Vegas Aces, who won the franchise's first WNBA title over the Connecticut Sun. They wrap up the show with What's Good and What We're Watching In Sports this week. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, transcripts, and more info about BIAD, check out our website: www.burnitalldownpod.com To get exclusive content and support the Burn It All Down podcast, become a patron: www.patreon.com/burnitalldown For BIAD merchandise: https://www.bonfire.com/store/burn-it-all-down/ Find us on Twitter: twitter.com/BurnItDownPod; Facebook: www.facebook.com/BurnItAllDownPod/; and Instagram: www.instagram.com/burnitalldownpod/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices