Report: Silver apologized to Suns employees, cited 'failure of an overall system'

NBA commissioner Adam Silver apologized in person Wednesday to Phoenix Suns employees for the workplace misconduct of outgoing franchise owner Robert Sarver, sources told ESPN's Baxter Holmes.

"To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize," Silver said prior to the team's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. "I take responsibility for that."

Silver reportedly sat on a stool in the arena's lower bowl as he addressed hundreds of employees for nearly an hour. He said the league didn't receive any confidential complaints regarding Sarver before or after the investigation began but conceded it still fell under his purview as NBA commissioner.

"Obviously, it's a failure of an overall system, of a league of 30 teams," Silver said.

The NBA suspended Sarver for one year in September and fined him $10 million after an independent investigation determined he engaged in "workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies." During his tenure, the 60-year-old was found to have used the N-word at least five times and made offensive remarks toward female employees, among multiple other findings of misconduct.

A week after the investigation's results were published, Sarver announced he'd sell the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. He purchased both franchises in 2004 for a then-record $400 million.