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The Suns’ former director of security who sued the team over racial discrimination has been fired, and as the case heads toward trial, tensions between the team and the ex-employee’s attorney are spilling into public view.
Gene Traylor, who sued the Suns in May claiming he was discriminated against and said the franchise has serious security deficiencies, was axed on Friday, according to a Monday report from ESPN. The Suns believe Traylor and his attorney, Sheree D. Wright of IBF Law Group, are responsible for the news of his firing coming out.
Stacey Mitch, senior vice president of communications for the Suns, said in a statement that “while the organization typically does not comment on internal personnel matters, Mr. Traylor, or his attorney, Sheree Wright, apparently opted to publicize his termination.”
“Mr. Traylor was terminated from his position as a security manager because an independent, outside investigation concluded that he violated company policies with respect to confidential information about security operations and he was intentionally untruthful with the investigator,” Mitch added.
Wright—who in addition to Traylor is representing four other plaintiffs in suits making similar allegations against either the Suns or WNBA’s Mercury—disputed the notion that she or Traylor is behind the leak. She told Front Office Sports the Suns’ statement is “deeply troubling and misleading.”
“Rather than address the serious allegations raised in Mr. Traylor’s federal civil rights lawsuit, the organization has chosen to issue a public statement that mischaracterizes the facts and maligns both Mr. Traylor and his legal counsel,” Wright said.
“To be absolutely clear: neither Mr. Traylor nor I publicized the details of his termination,” she added. “Any information that became public did so outside of our control.”
The barb-trading comes as a trial seems to be the likeliest outcome. In a July 21 case management report, both sides reiterated their positions and said settlement talks would be “premature.” Traylor is requesting a jury trial, something the Suns do not contest. The two sides estimate they will be ready for trial by Nov. 20, 2026.
The judge overseeing the case has since canceled a planned Aug. 1 conference and set a schedule for all the steps that must take place before trial, such as discovery and oral arguments.
Traylor’s is just one of five lawsuits the Suns or Mercury—both of which are owned by Mat Ishbia—are facing in Arizona federal court from former employees, all represented by Wright.
The most recent suit was filed July 2 by Anitra “Nikki” Blue, who like Traylor is Black. Blue, who played five WNBA seasons (four for the Mystics and one for the Liberty), was hired as an assistant coach for the Mercury in 2022 and stepped into the role of interim head coach in 2023 after Vanessa Nygaard was fired in the middle of the season. She claims she was treated unfairly because of her race and gender, that she was underpaid because of her race, and that she was fired as retaliation for complaining about “disparate treatment.” On Monday, the Mercury filed a motion to compel arbitration in that case.
Before Blue and Traylor, the Suns were sued by three other individuals represented by Wright. In April, a Hispanic woman, identified in her complaint as Jane Doe, sued the team for discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile workplace. In March, a 46-year-old video engineer alleged the team pressured him to change his employment status to contractor and then pushed him into unsanitary working conditions. The first suit of the bunch, lodged last November, came from the Suns’ former head of diversity, equity and inclusion, who alleged that the workplace environment did not improve at all after embattled ex-owner Robert Sarver sold the team to Ishbia.
All the lawsuits concern claims that allegedly took place under the leadership of Ishbia, who bought the Suns and Mercury from Sarver for a then-record $4 billion in December 2022.
