September 11, 2024
Former Phoenix Suns DEI Manager Sues Team For Discrimination, Seeks $60M In Damages
A former Phoenix Suns program manager filed a lawsuit against the organization citing discrimination and wrongful termination.
A former Phoenix Suns employee has sued the organization for alleged discrimination and wrongful termination.
According to ESPN, Andrea Trischan, the Suns’ former diversity, equity, and inclusion program manager, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity and the Arizona Attorney General’s office’s civil rights division. She is seeking $60 million in damages.
The Arizona attorney general’s office says it “does not confirm the existence of investigations or provide comments on any potential investigations,” despite reports that it is leading the investigation.
“Ms. Trischan filed a formal complaint … due to ongoing racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation she experienced while employed with the Phoenix Suns,” said Sheree Wright, Trischan’s attorney, in an email to the renowned sports outlet. “Specifically, Ms. Trischan endured overt racist comments and a hostile work environment that went unaddressed despite being reported to HR and executive leadership.”
Trishchan officially accepted the position as the Phoenix Suns’ program manager of diversity, equity, and inclusion just six days after the NBA announced that the team’s then-owner, Robert Sarver, was suspended for one year following a league-wide investigation into claims of a “troubling workplace culture” and misconduct during his 18-year tenure as the organization’s majority owner.
Additionally, the NBA fined Sarver $10 million, and within two months of the investigation, Trischan said she was made privy to a budding diversity council led by the team without her knowledge. The Suns deny all claims.
Moreover, Sarver announced that he planned to sell the team after the investigation.
“A former employee who last worked for the organization in 2023 was terminated after less than 10 months due to repeated failure to perform her job duties,” said Suns and Mercury senior vice president of communications, Stacey Mitch, in a statement to ESPN. “This individual filed a baseless charge with a state agency and is now trying to use ESPN reporting from 2022, specific to previous ownership, to make egregious claims in order to support her ridiculous demand for $60 million from the Suns organization.”
Under her leadership, Trischan was tasked with helping to address the issues reported to ESPN by current and former Phoenix Suns employees. Following the investigation into Sarver’s misconduct, the NBA ordered the Suns to not only address their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs but also “retain an outside firm to evaluate and make recommendations with respect to workplace training programs, policies and procedures, and hiring and compensation practices—with a focus on fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace.”
Shortly after Trischan learned of the diversity council that was brewing without her knowledge within the organization, another investigation revealed that the council would include several Suns executives, including executive vice president and chief revenue officer Dan Castello, senior vice president of ticket sales and service Kyle Pottinger, the team’s general counsel Melissa Goldenberg, and then-team president and CEO Jason Rowley.
Per the complaint filed by Trischan, shortly after she launched an investigation into the claims of misconduct against the aforementioned executive, she was instructed by her direct manager, Kim Corbitt, who is also the team’s head of human resources, 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 underlying issues,” read the statement from Trischan.
The filing also claims that Corbitt told Trischan that the executive’s reasons for joining the diversity council were an effort to “reshape their image.”
It is important to note that all of the Suns executives mentioned in the 2022 report filed by ESPN are no longer with the team except for one.
“Ms. Trischan’s claims regarding the diversity council are misleading,” said a spokesperson for the Suns. “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.”
According to Trischan, she was placed on a performance improvement plan in late May and terminated from her position in July 2023.
While Trischan and the Phoenix Suns have explored mediation to settle the dispute, no agreement has been reached. Additionally, she has until Nov. 13 to file a formal lawsuit, which her attorneys say is already prepared and ready to be filed.
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