Suns sued by former employee for $60 million over discrimination and wrongful termination

The Phoenix Suns have sued a former employee for discrimination and wrongful termination, seeking $60 million in damages, according to a 25-page affidavit from August 2024 obtained by ESPN.

Andrea Trischan, the Suns’ diversity, equity and inclusion program manager, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office’s Civil Rights Division, 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 a 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. Trischan’s role was focused on helping to resolve issues that current and former Suns employees had described to ESPN as existing under Sarver.

Trischan was fired in July 2023 after she created a performance improvement plan in late May.

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.