This much is not disputed: Andrea Trischan was hired by the Phoenix Suns in September 2022 as the franchise’s program manager of diversity, equity and inclusion. She was hired after the NBA gave then Suns owner Robert Sarver a “slap on the wrist” — a one-year suspension and a $10 million fine — after a report uncovered nearly 18 years of racist and misogynistic behavior by Sarver as owner. However, by July 2023 Trischan had been let go.
Trischan is now suing for $60 million in damages alleging harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, a story broken by Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
This lawsuit was not Trischan’s first step, she previously filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Attorney General’s civil rights division, seeking that same sum of money. The Arizona Attorney General’s office dismissed that complaint 10 days ago stating that the “information obtained is not sufficient to establish violations.”
Here’s what the attorneys for both sides told ESPN.
“Andrea’s case is built on substantial evidence that establishes a clear and undeniable pattern of discrimination within the Suns organization,” Trischan’s attorney, Sheree Wright, wrote in a statement to ESPN. “Key pieces of evidence include her quarterly 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.”
“Ms. Trischan’s case was dismissed by the Arizona Attorney General’s office earlier this week,” Stacey Mitch, senior vice president of communications for the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, wrote 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 confident the courts will agree her story is completely fabricated.”
In her complaint and lawsuit, Trischan says she was blocked from doing her job and harassed when she did. For example, Trischan has said in her complaint that some of the executives accused of misconduct had been named to the club’s new diversity council. Trischan claims she started to investigate the men but was told to stop doing so by Suns’ human resources (the Suns say investigations were not part of her job description and not something she had the power to do in the organization). Trischan points to that and other things as signs of a hostile work environment and how those entrenched in power wanted things to stay the same.
Sarver, under pressure, sold the Phoenix Suns to Mat Ishbia in December of 2022.
This case will take years to work its way through the court system, barring a settlement.
