PayPal vows to end its Phoenix Suns partnership if Robert Sarver stays on

PayPal Holdings said it will end its sponsorship deal with the NBA's Phoenix Suns if chairman Robert Sarver stays on after a league investigation found he used racist slurs and harassed female employees.

The payments giant, which has sponsored a patch on the team's jerseys since 2018, won't renew the deal when it expires at the end of the current season if Sarver remains involved with the organization, Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said in a statement Friday. 

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The National Basketball Association said this week that Sarver would serve a one-year suspension and fined him $10 million following the conclusion of an independent investigation involving more than 80,000 documents and other materials and interviews with 320 people. Sarver owns 35% of the Phoenix Suns, which are valued at $1.9 billion, according to Sportico. 

"PayPal is a values-driven company and has a strong record of combating racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination," Schulman said in the statement. "We have reviewed the report of the NBA league's independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values."

Jersey-patch deals, which were first allowed by the NBA in 2017, generate about $9.3 million a year on average, according to data from the sports marketing firm Wasserman.