“This evidence paints a stark picture of a workplace culture rife with discriminatory practices, where concerns raised by employees were systematically ignored or dismissed,” attorney Sheree Wright said.
A former Phoenix Suns employee is filing a lawsuit against the team, claiming that she was subjected to racial discrimination, retaliation, and unlawful termination.
According to The Associated Press, the complaint was filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court tin Arizona. Attorneys for Andrea Trischan, who served as the team’s manager of diversity, equity, and inclusion, says that some Suns players also appear to have engaged in financial and sexual “misconduct.”
“Andrea’s case is built on substantial evidence that establishes a clear and undeniable pattern of discrimination within the Suns organization,” said Sheree Wright, a lawyer representing Trischan. “Key pieces of evidence include her quality and annual performance reviews, which consistently highlight her exceptional work, and email correspondence documenting instances of bias and exclusion.”
“This evidence paints a stark picture of a workplace culture rife with discriminatory practices, where concerns raised by employees were systematically ignored or dismissed,” Wright said.
ESPN notes that, shortly after being terminated by the Suns in July 2023, Trischan filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as the Arizona Attorney General’s office. However, the latter complaint was dismissed earlier this year, with the attorney general’s office stating that the “information obtained is not sufficient to establish violations.”
Stacey Mitch, the senior vice president of the Phoenix Suns, has since referenced the Arizona Attorney General’s dismissal, saying it is but further proof that Trischan’s claims are meritless.
“Ms. Trischan’s case was dismissed by the Arizona Attorney General’s office earlier this week,” Mitch said in a statement to ESPN. “Her claims have been without merit from day one, and now this lawsuit, in which she is seeking $60M, is based on the same claims that were just dismissed.”
“We are fully confined the courts will agree her story is completely fabricated,” she said.
Trischan, writes ESPN, started working with the Suns midway through 2022.
Her role was designed to help the Suns address issues relating to alleged impropriety among the team’s executives, with the NBA itself requiring that the team take concrete action to improve its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
But in November 2022, Trischan learned that the Suns were creating a “diversity council” without consulting her—and that the council’s members included several of the same Suns executives still under investigation for misconduct.
After reading about litigation pending against the Suns, Trischan shared her concerns with the team’s head of human resources, but was purportedly discouraged from initiating an investigation.
“Ms. Trischan’s claims regarding the diversity council are misleading,” a Suns spokesperson told ESPN. “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.”
“Ms. Trischan’s job,” the spokesperson said, “did not include any sort of investigatory or employee relations responsibilities.”
Sources
Ex-Phoenix Suns employee files racial discrimination, retaliation lawsuit against the team
Ex-Suns employee sues team, alleges discrimination, retaliation
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