PayPal threatens to sever partnership with Phoenix Suns if owner Sarver returns

PayPal, the jersey sponsor for the Phoenix Suns, warned that it would sever ties with the squad if proprietor Robert Sarver remains affiliated with the enactment pursuing his one-year suspension.

Sarver was suspended from the league and fined $10 million aft an probe revealed helium had made inappropriate comments to pistillate employees and, connected aggregate occasions, repeated the N-word. 

PayPal, a large sponsor for the team, is asking the squad to instrumentality disciplinary enactment beyond the one-year suspension. PayPal and the Suns struck a sponsorship woody successful 2018 that included the jersey spot and saw the fintech company's payments options integrated successful the team's arena and summons sales.

"PayPal's sponsorship with the Suns is acceptable to expire astatine the extremity of the existent season," CEO Dan Schulman said successful a statement released Friday. "In airy of the findings of the NBA's investigation, we volition not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver stay progressive with the Suns organization, aft serving his suspension."

The $10 cardinal good Sarver faces is the highest allowable nether the NBA by-laws, but the league has doled retired much important suspensions successful the past. Former Los Angeles Clippers proprietor Donald Sterling was banned from the league for life aft his racist remark surfaced. The suspension forced him to merchantability the team.

PayPal joins aggregate NBA players and the players' association in saying Sarver's punishment doesn't spell acold enough, including Suns prima Chris Paul.

"I americium of the presumption that the sanctions fell abbreviated successful genuinely addressing what we tin each hold was atrocious behavior," Paul wrote successful a tweet connected Thursday. "My bosom goes retired to each of the radical that were affected."

His comments came aft Los Angeles Lakers prima Lebron James connected Wednesday said that the "league decidedly got this wrong," and Tamika Tremaglio, the enforcement manager of the NBA Players Association, said "Mr. Sarver should ne'er clasp a managerial presumption wrong our league again."

CNBC reached retired to the Suns and its large sponsors for comment.