Image Source: Getty Images / Instagram
[Saba Sports News] Phoenix Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein is at the center of a shocking allegation included in a new federal lawsuit filed against the organization.
The suit was brought by Gene Traylor, the team’s former director of safety, security, and risk management. Traylor, who is Black, alleges he was the target of “racial discrimination and a retaliatory demotion” by the Suns.
Among the more explosive claims in the lawsuit is an allegation that Bartelstein had a romantic relationship with former Phoenix Mercury player Sophie Cunningham. According to court documents obtained by Front Office Sports, Traylor detailed a conversation from October 2024 in which he warned Bartelstein about another team executive, Cornelius Craig, who he claimed was “spreading damaging information” that could harm the organization.
In Paragraph 35 of the filing, Traylor says Bartelstein asked what was being said, and Traylor allegedly responded that Craig had been telling people, “Josh Bartelstein is f—ing Sophie Cunningham.”
Cunningham spent six seasons with the Mercury — the WNBA sister team to the Suns — before being traded to the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Traylor also alleges that Craig, who is also Black, was brought in to specifically target him at the direction of “racist executives.” He claims the Suns’ leadership viewed him as a threat and hired another Black employee to carry out his demotion to avoid accusations of racism.
This lawsuit adds to a string of recent legal troubles for the Suns, who have been trying to rehabilitate their image following numerous reports of workplace misconduct, racism, and misogyny under former owner Robert Sarver. The team was sold to Mat Ishbia in 2022 in the wake of those scandals.
With multiple lawsuits still pending, the Suns’ off-court issues continue to cast a shadow over the franchise.