Wife of Suns owner contacted former team staff in wake of report

Warning: Story contains graphic content

Penny Sarver, the wife of Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver, contacted three former team employees following their involvement in a recent report alleging a sometimes hostile and toxic workplace culture during her husband's 17-year tenure with the team.

"If something happens to one of my children, I will hold you and (former Suns head coach) Earl Watson personally responsible," Penny wrote to a former staffer in a message confirmed by ESPN's Baxter Holmes. "Think about your own child for a second and imagine the tables turned."

The ex-staffers reportedly interpret Penny's outreach as an attempt to intimidate them.

Watson, now an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors, said in the initial report that Robert used the N-word several times when he was in the locker room following a loss to the Golden State Warriors. The owner allegedly asked Watson about Draymond Green's use of the N-word on the court.

Through his representatives, Robert denied referring to any individual or group by the N-word. However, he acknowledged using the racial epithet on one occasion while quoting a player.

In a statement to ESPN, Penny said she was trying "to set the record straight" in her messages and express her disappointment in the allegations.

"I shared the betrayal that I felt, and I touched on some of the pain that we are going through as a family," Penny said. "Any suggestion that I tried to 'intimidate' anyone is as silly as it is wrong and outrageous."

Penny also features in the initial reporting into the Suns' workplace culture. According to the report, Robert once passed around a picture of his wife in a bikini to employees and spoke about times she performed oral sex on him.

In recalling the incident, Robert said he took a photo of his wife wearing a team-branded swimwear sample and showed the picture to staff members in charge of merchandising.

"There's literally nothing you could tell me about (Robert) from a misogynistic or race standpoint that would surprise me," a former Suns executive told ESPN in the report.

The NBA opened a formal investigation into the allegations Thursday, calling the claims "extremely serious."