Report: Mat Ishbia to Buy Suns, Mercury for Roughly $4B After Robert Sarver Probe

Mat Ishbia, a billionaire, has agreed to buy the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

The deal will be done in the "near future" with a purchase price of $4 billion, according to Adrian.

An investigation found that he used racial slurs, made sexist comments, mistreated employees and presided over a hostile work environment during his ownership tenure of the Suns and Mercurys.

An independent investigation commissioned by the NBA found that Sarver used the N-word at least five times despite being told by other employees that it was not appropriate. He had inappropriate physical conduct with men in the workplace and engaged in inequitable treatment of women.

The NBA fined him $10 million and suspended him for a year, but the punishments did not go down well with the public. The NBA's punishment didn't fit the severity of Sarver's transgressions, with superstars like Chris Paul and Draymond Green saying the league didn't do enough.

LeBron James @KingJames

behavior. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don’t matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this aint it.

The public pressure would not relent despite the NBA's inability to force a sale. If he remained involved with the team after his suspension, the team's jersey sponsor would not be renewing its contract.

He blamed an "unforgiving climate" for his selling the team.

I believe in forgiveness and the path to it. I expected that the commissioner's one-year suspension would give me time to focus, make apologies, and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love.

"In our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible, that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is more important than what I have said in the past."

Ishbia is the Chairman and CEO of UWM. He has a net worth of $5.1 billion, which is less than the $9 billion he had in 2011.

Ishbia was a reserve on the Michigan State basketball team from 1999 to 2001. He was on the national championship team.

Ishbia will be a hit with the Suns faithful, who were already angry with him before the news of his actions became public. The Seven Seconds or Less Suns never won a title due to their frugal ownership style.