{"id":3815,"date":"2025-05-20T14:23:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T14:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T17:52:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:52:04","slug":"phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Suns&#8217; lawsuit description: fourth employee in the past seven months sues franchise"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise\/#What_does_the_lawsuit_say_about_Josh_Bartelsteins_%E2%80%9Cevent%E2%80%9D_with_Sophie_Cunningham\" >What does the lawsuit say about Josh Bartelstein&#8217;s &#8220;event&#8221; with Sophie Cunningham?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise\/#What_security_ratings_have_led_to_the_trailers_relegation\" >What security ratings have led to the trailer&#8217;s relegation?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/20\/phoenix-suns-lawsuit-description-fourth-employee-in-the-past-seven-months-sues-franchise\/#What_are_the_other_lawsuits_against_the_Phoenix_Suns\" >What are the other lawsuits against the Phoenix Suns?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>For the fourth time in the past seven months, Phoenix Suns employees have sued the franchise citing allegations of discrimination, harassment and illegal retaliation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The latest lawsuit was filed in January 2023 by lawyers representing Genetrailer, who was hired by the team as director of safety, security and risk management.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_the_lawsuit_say_about_Josh_Bartelsteins_%E2%80%9Cevent%E2%80%9D_with_Sophie_Cunningham\"><\/span>What does the lawsuit say about Josh Bartelstein&#8217;s &#8220;event&#8221; with Sophie Cunningham?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One important story that sets out of the lawsuit was allegations of issues between the Phoenix Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein and WNBA player Sophie Cunningham.<\/p>\n<p>According to the lawsuit, Trailer told Bartelstein that Dan Craig, vice president of security and risk management, is &#8220;spreading information that could potentially put an organization at risk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In conversations with trailers and others, Craig said that Bartelstein, a three-year married man, had a sexual relationship with Cunningham, who played for mercury for six seasons before trading for Indiana Fever in January.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_623406\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-623406\" style=\"width: 555px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Phoenix Suns' lawsuit description: fourth employee in the past seven months sues franchise\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-623406\" title=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-555x305.jpg 555w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-820x451.jpg 820w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-768x423.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-1536x845.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-2048x1127.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-24x13.jpg 24w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-36x20.jpg 36w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58.jpg 696w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"50vw\" src=\"https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-555x305.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Phoenix Suns' lawsuit description: fourth employee in the past seven months sues franchise\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-623406\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-555x305.jpg\" width=\"555\" height=\"305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-555x305.jpg 555w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-820x451.jpg 820w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-768x423.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-1536x845.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-2048x1127.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-24x13.jpg 24w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58-36x20.jpg 36w, https:\/\/sportslens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-11.45.58.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, 50vw\"><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-623406\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L: Sophie Cunningham &#8211; R: Josh Bartelstein<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_security_ratings_have_led_to_the_trailers_relegation\"><\/span>What security ratings have led to the trailer&#8217;s relegation?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Taking responsibility for assessing the safety, financial and reputational risks of the organization, Traylor claims to have provided security assessments that led to retaliation from management and subsequent demobilization.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Traylor submitted a management security assessment that outlined specific incidents, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A former part-time employee stole over $40,000 on shoes, apparel and goods.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The Dissatisfied Subject&#8221; suspended Suns&#8217; photo shoot with team executives, including CEO Josh Bartelstein<\/li>\n<li>Political influencer &#8220;harassed&#8221; former Phoenix Mercury player Britney Griner at the airport, delaying team flight for three and a half hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The lawsuit alleges that the Suns failed multiple security tests, and the Phoenix Police Department&#8217;s Land Defense Department conducted field tests in 2023 and 2024, allowing Plain Cross officials to smuggle knives and handguns into the footprint center, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>The trailer also claims that the team discouraged him from taking a sheltered leave when he was diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_other_lawsuits_against_the_Phoenix_Suns\"><\/span>What are the other lawsuits against the Phoenix Suns?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Andrea Atrichian, a former program manager for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Sons, cites allegations of harassment, racism, retaliation and wrongful dismissal, and she is seeking $60 million in damages.<\/p>\n<p>In March this year, Jason Coop, a former member of the team&#8217;s Suns Vision division since 2009, sued the team for being misclassified as an independent contractor.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, in April, an unnamed former employee alleged racial and gender discrimination along with sexual harassment and retaliation by former Sons executives, who are seeking private damages.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the fourth time in the past seven months, Phoenix Suns employees have sued the franchise citing allegations of discrimination, harassment and illegal retaliation. The latest lawsuit was filed in January 2023 by lawyers representing Genetrailer, who was hired by the team as director of safety, security and risk management. What does the lawsuit say [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[39,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-3815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3864,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815\/revisions\/3864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}