Ex-Suns employee seeks $60 million in damages in discrimination lawsuit

The Phoenix Suns are embroiled in a dispute with a former employee who alleges discrimination and wrongful termination. He is seeking $60 million in damages, according to a 25-page affidavit dated August 2024 and obtained by ESPN.

That former employee, Andrea Trischan, who was the Suns’ diversity, equity and inclusion program manager, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the civil rights division of the Arizona attorney general’s office, which are investigating the matter.

“Ms. Trischan has filed a formal complaint … alleging ongoing racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation she has experienced during her employment with the Phoenix Suns,” Trischan’s attorney, Sheree Wright, wrote in an email to ESPN. “Specifically, Ms. Trischan has experienced overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership.”

Trischan was hired by the Suns on September 19, 2022, six days after the NBA announced that then-owner Robert Sarver had been suspended for one year and fined $10 million following an NBA investigation into his conduct and the team’s work culture during Sarver’s 18-year tenure as the team’s majority owner.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office declined to comment, noting that it “does not confirm the existence of investigations and does not comment on potential investigations,” a spokesperson for the office wrote in an email to ESPN.

“A former employee who last worked for the organization in 2023 was terminated after less than 10 months for repeatedly failing to perform her job duties,” Stacey Mitch, senior vice president of communications for the Suns and Mercury, told ESPN. “This individual filed a baseless complaint with a state agency and is now attempting to use ESPN reporting from 2022, specifically about the previous ownership, to make egregious claims to support her ridiculous demand for $60 million from the Suns organization.

“To be clear, this individual is making false claims in an attempt to make tens of millions of dollars. We are confident that the courts will find no merit to these claims and will resolve this matter expeditiously. The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury are creating a world-class organization for every employee. We will not allow opportunists to succeed in their attempts to manipulate the media and use years of reporting for financial gain.”

Trischan wanted to help resolve problems that current and former Suns employees had reported to ESPN as occurring under Sarver. Sarver announced his intention to sell the team shortly after the NBA made the investigation’s findings public.

One of those findings, and a requirement from the league, was that the Suns address their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The NBA specifically directed the Suns to hire an outside firm to “evaluate and make recommendations on training programs, workplace policies and procedures, and hiring and compensation practices — with a focus on fostering a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace.”

In November 2022, Trischan was nearly two months into her role when she said she learned the team was creating a diversity council without consulting her and that it would include several Suns executives. A month later, ESPN published another investigation detailing allegations of misconduct by several Suns executives who employees said played a significant role in perpetuating a troubling workplace culture under Sarver. Some of those executives included then-team president and CEO Jason Rowley; executive vice president and chief revenue officer Dan Costello; Kyle Pottinger, the Suns’ senior vice president of ticketing and services; and Melissa Goldenberg, the team’s general counsel.

When Trischan read ESPN’s story, she realized that some of the executives accused of misconduct had also been appointed to the team’s diversity council, Trischan said in her statement, which was sent to the Suns and the civil rights division of the attorney general’s office.

Trischan said in the statement that she then began investigating claims of misconduct against those executives. That same month, Trischan said Kim Corbitt, her direct manager and the Suns’ chief human resources officer, expressed concerns to Trischan about her investigation into Suns executives and asked her to “cease her investigation into the report.”

“This interaction underscores how Corbitt’s approach aligns with practices that perpetuate a hostile work environment, rather than addressing the underlying problems,” Trischan said in a statement.

Trischan said she raised concerns with Corbitt about the executives named in the ESPN story, saying staff distrusted them and questioned their presence on the diversity council.

According to Trischan, Corbitt told Trischan that the executives were on the diversity council to “improve their image.”

“Ms. Trischan’s claims about the diversity council are misleading,” a Suns spokesperson said. “The purpose of the diversity council, which is comprised of the entire executive team and other leaders in the organization, is to listen to diversity data and information about DE&I initiatives to continue to advance the organization’s DE&I commitment.

“…Ms. Trischan had no responsibility for investigations or employee relations.”

Both before and after the conversation between Trischan and Corbitt, Trischan described experiencing harassment, discrimination and retaliation from coworkers and superiors, including Corbitt, “for attempting to address the Suns’ discriminatory conduct and filing complaints,” the statement said.

Trischan, who said in her statement that she was placed on a performance improvement plan in late May, was fired in July 2023.

Trischan and the Suns, who are working with an outside law firm, have discussed mediation to resolve the dispute, but to date no agreement has been reached.

Her attorneys told ESPN they have already prepared a formal lawsuit against the Suns and expect to file it. She has until Nov. 13 to do so, her attorneys said.

“The Suns continue to participate in good faith with the (Arizona Civil Rights Division) investigation,” a Suns spokesperson said. “We are confident that after the ACRD concludes its investigation into Ms. Trischan’s complaint, it will find that Ms. Trischan’s claims are factually and legally without merit.”

Of the Suns executives named in the 2022 ESPN story, all but one are still with the team. Rowley resigned in February 2023, just before billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia was introduced as the team’s new majority owner.

Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury from Robert Sarver for $4 billion.