Former Suns employee sues team for discrimination, harassment and retaliation; seeks $60M in damages

A former employee of the Phoenix Suns, Andrea Trischan, is suing the team over allegations of harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination when she worked for the franchise between Sept. 2022 and July 2023, per a lawsuit obtained by ESPN. She is seeking $60 million in damages.

In September, Trischan filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Attorney General's civil rights division. However, that complaint was dismissed on Nov. 5, citing that the "information obtained is not sufficient to establish violations."

"Ms. Trischan's case was dismissed by the Arizona Attorney General's office," Stacey Mitch, senior vice president of communications for the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, wrote in a statement via ESPN. "Her claims have been without merit from Day 1, and now this lawsuit, in which she is seeking $60M, is based on the same claims that were just dismissed. We are fully confident the courts will agree her story is completely fabricated."

Trischan was the program manager of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Suns. She was hired a week after the NBA suspended former team owner Robert Sarver for a year in 2022 following the findings of an investigation into his inappropriate workplace conduct. In the now dismissed complaint filed with the E.E.O.O. and in the new lawsuit, Trischan alleges that, when she expressed concerns to her manager and Phoenix's head of human resources, Kim Corbitt, about the team putting numerous executives who had been accused of misconduct on a new diversity council, she was punished for it.

According to Trischan's statement in the complaint filed in September, Corbitt told her that those executives had been placed on the council to "reshape their image." In the statement, Trischan also said that she was discouraged from investigating misconduct claims against those executives and that she faced retaliation "for attempting to address the Suns' discriminatory behavior and for filing complaints."

Trischan's attorney, Sheree Wright, wrote in an email to ESPN that Trischan "endured overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership."

The Suns disputed Trischan's allegations in September, saying in part, "Ms. Trischan's claims regarding the diversity council are misleading. The purpose of the diversity council, which is comprised of the entire executive team and other leaders in the organization, is to listen to the diversity data and information on DE&I initiatives to continue to further the organization's DE&I commitment."

The Suns also said, "Ms. Trischan's job did not include any sort of investigatory or employee relations responsibilities."

According to Trischan's statement from September, the Suns placed her on a performance improvement plan in late May 2023. She was fired in July 2023. Following Trischan's original complaint filed with the E.E.O.O., two of the named executives in ESPN's story, Kyle Pottinger, the Suns' senior vice president of ticket sales and service, and Melisa Goldenberg, the team's general counsel, are reportedly no longer with the organization. Former team president and CEO Jason Rowley resigned in February 2023.

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