AP source: Suns president, CEO Jason Rowley leaves team

By DAVID BRANDT
AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Suns president and CEO Jason Rowley has decided to leave the team as the franchise moves forward with leadership changes, according to a person familiar with the details.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Rowley’s resignation was not shared outside of the organization.

The person said Rowley’s departure was “shared internally” within the Suns organization on Monday. ESPN first reported the news, saying employees were notified in an internal email from Suns interim governor Sam Garvin.

Rowley’s resignation comes in the midst of big changes in Phoenix. Mortgage executive Mat Ishbia is expected to be the team’s new majority owner in the near future if the NBA’s board of governors approves his plan to purchase the controlling stake of the Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from embattled owner Robert Sarver.

The 43-year-old Ishbia agreed on Dec. 20 to the deal, one that put the total value of the Suns and Mercury at $4 billion.

The NBA suspended Sarver in September for one year, plus fined him $10 million, after an investigation found he had engaged in what the league called “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.”

Sarver’s suspension came nearly a year after the NBA asked a law firm to investigate allegations that Sarver had a history of racist, misogynistic and hostile incidents over his nearly two-decade tenure overseeing the franchise.

Shortly afterward, Sarver announced he would be looking to sell the Suns and the Mercury.

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