{"id":47151,"date":"2025-05-21T08:33:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/47151\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T08:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:33:15","slug":"suns-accuse-lawyer-of-fabricating-sophie-cunningham-affair-in-140-million-shakedown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/47151\/","title":{"rendered":"Suns accuse lawyer of fabricating Sophie Cunningham affair in $140 million shakedown"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Suns lashed out against the allegations that CEO Josh Bartelstein, who also serves in the same capacity for the WNBA\u2019s Mercury, had an affair with former Mercury star Sophie Cunningham, as alleged in a May lawsuit<\/a> by a member of the organization. <\/p>\n

Gene Traylor, the plaintiff and a Suns employee and former director of safety, security and risk management, alleges that a colleague had been telling people that Bartelstein allegedly was having an affair with Cunningham<\/p>\n

A fiery statement by Suns senior vice president of communications Stacey Mitch called out attorney Sheree Wright, who is one of two lawyers representing Traylor in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Sophie Cunningham celebrates during a 2021 game. AP<\/p>\n

Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein in May 2025. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Traylor is quoted in the lawsuit as having overheard that a colleague had been telling people that the married Bartelstein \u201cis f\u2013king Sophie Cunningham.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible. Let\u2019s be absolutely clear about the origin of these claims,\u201d Mitch said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttorney Sheree Wright, a personal injury and immigration lawyer, currently serving a two year probation with the Arizona State Bar for violating the rules of professional conduct, sees an opportunity because of the reports about previous ownership. Ms. Wright has now filed four separate lawsuits against the organization, seeking over $140 million dollars in compensation. To date, her cases have been dismissed by the Equal\u00a0Employment Opportunity Commission and Arizona Civil Rights Division or voluntarily withdrawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe continues to insert salacious lies and fabrications into her complaints \u2014 knowing that the media may report them as fact, as happened yesterday \u2014 she hopes to coerce the Phoenix Suns into settling.\u00a0Sheree Wright will not extort our organization and never see a single dollar. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Bartelstein serves as the CEO for both the Suns and the Mercury. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will pursue all available legal avenues and hold those accountable for participating in the spread of misleading and false narratives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Suns released their statement following a bombshell lawsuit by Traylor, who is still with the organization and previously worked as its director of safety, security and risk management after joining in 2023, in which he alleges racial discrimination, harassment, unlawful retaliation and security issues.<\/p>\n

He alleges in his lawsuit against Suns Legacy Partners, LLC, that Cornelius Craig, the vice president of security and risk management for the franchises, had been telling people of an alleged affair.<\/p>\n

Sophie Cunningham is in her first year with the Fever. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges Craig \u201ctargeted\u201d Traylor, who was demoted to safety and development training leader.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit did not state the amount Traylor is seeking.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaintiff also shared with Bartelstein that Craig had been spreading damaging information that could jeopardize the organization,\u201d the lawsuit claims. \u201cWhen Bartelstein asked Plaintiff to reveal what Craig was saying, Plaintiff explained that Craig had been telling others, \u2018Josh Bartelstein is f\u2013king Sophie Cunningham.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham in a photo posted to her Instagram account. @sophie_cham\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Cunningham, 28, landed with the Mercury and played six seasons for the franchise before being traded to the Fever this offseason.<\/p>\n

The Mercury extended her last year through the 2025 season before moving on.<\/p>\n

Bartelstein, 35, joined the Suns and Mercury in 2023 and a press release stated<\/a> he oversees business operations for the franchise.<\/p>\n

A November 2024 profile from phoenixmag.com<\/a> said he had been married two years as of November 2024 to his wife Sydney, who he credited for allowing him to \u201clove\u201d his job.<\/p>\n

Josh Bartelstein and wife Syndey in 2022. @stellairbeauty\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cThis job is incredibly demanding. It\u2019s the best job ever, but it\u2019s long hours, high-stress and -pressure, and public-facing. And I travel a lot,\u201d Bartelstein told the outlet. \u201cMe and Sydney have done it together, and she\u2019s a huge reason why I love what I get to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Suns have been sued four times now in the past seven months by current or former employees, according to ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Andrea Trischan, the team\u2019s former program manager of diversity, equity and inclusion, sued for $60 million in 2024 on the basis of allegations of harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, per the outlet.<\/p>\n

Sophie Cunningham is popular on Instagram. @sophie_cham\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Jason Cope, a former staffer of the SunsVision department, alleged age discrimination and not being awarded his benefits and overtime, according to ESPN.<\/p>\n

One Jane Doe reportedly also sued under allegations of racial and gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation by an ex-Suns employee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe common denominator is Sheree Wright. She is trying to extort the Suns organization,\u201d a Suns spokeswoman told ESPN<\/a> last week. \u201cMs. Wright continues to recruit former and now current employees and is manipulating them to file meritless lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Suns\u2019 culture came under fire during previous owner Robert Sarver\u2019s tenure, which included him receiving a $10 million fine and a one-year suspension in 2022 for racist and sexist actions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mat Ishbia then bought the Suns and Mercury in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Suns lashed out against the allegations that CEO Josh Bartelstein, who also serves in the same capacity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,459,6,2065,6908,472,4045,66,604,458],"class_list":{"0":"post-47151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-indiana-fever","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-phoenix-mercury","13":"tag-phoenix-suns","14":"tag-phoenixsuns","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-suns","17":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114544902495213968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}