Owner Robert Sarver has an interesting reason for why his team his Phoenix Suns have crawled to a 12-25 start this NBA season: the Internet and millennials.
It’s not uncommon for older generation individuals in sports to criticize younger players for not being focused, or being too focused on the flashiness of fame. Taking direct aim at an entire generation and the Internet, however, is not common practice.
The Suns’ owner told the media the following on Sunday:
I’m not sure it’s just the NBA. My whole view of the millennial culture is that they have a tough time dealing with setbacks, and Markieff Morris is the perfect example. He had a setback with his brother in the offseason and he can’t seem to recover from it.
I’m not sure if it’s the technology or the instant gratification of being online. But the other thing is, I’m not a fan of social media. I tell my kids it’s like Fantasy Land. The only thing people put online are good things that happen to them, or things they make up. And it creates unrealistic expectations. We’ve had a number of setbacks this year that have taken their toll on us, and we haven’t been resilient. Therefore, it’s up to our entire organization to step up their game.
The Markieff Morris incident Sarver is referring to is when the Suns shipped away his brother Marcus to the Detroit Pistons during the summer.
Morris didn’t take the bait when asked about the incident and refused to attack the owner of his team.
Suns owner Robert Sarver said Markieff Morris struggles to respond to adversity like many Millenials. Morris: pic.twitter.com/EhpWu4HoBH
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 4, 2016
It’s unclear whether or not social media and millennials are behind the Suns inability to win, but there’s no doubt that they are an absolute dumpster fire of a team right now.