Phoenix Suns address claims CEO had an affair with WNBA star Sophie Cunningham -
By MAX WINTERS and JACK BEZANTS
The Phoenix Suns have denied 'morally reprehensible' claims that the team's married CEO had an affair with WNBA star Sophie Cunningham.
Daily Mail reported on Monday that a lawsuit alleges a senior team official told the claimant that Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein, who married his wife Sydney in 2022, was having a relationship with Cunningham, now a teammate of Caitlin Clark at the Indiana Fever.
The lawsuit has been filed by Gene Traylor, a current employee of the Suns as their director of security at the organization, earlier in May.
He accuses them of racial discrimination and says they dismissed his safety concerns and it led to major breaches - such as when Britney Griner was harassed at an airport not long after her release from a Russian penal colony.
However, the lawsuit also alleges that Traylor told Bartelstein that Cornelius Craig, the Vice President of Security and Risk Management, was spreading 'damaging information about him that could jeopardize the organization.'
Traylor recounts in the suit a conversation with Bartelstein where he claims that Craig had been telling people 'Josh Bartelstein is f***ing Sophie Cunningham.'
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Neither Cunningham, who was traded from the Mercury to the Indiana Fever in January, nor Bartelstein have spoken publicly about the allegations or commented on whether or not they are true.
However on Tuesday, Suns spokesperson Stacey Mitch told Front Office Sports: 'The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible.
'Let's be absolutely clear about the origin of these claims.'
In response to ESPN last week the Suns also took aim at Sheree Wright, one of the attorneys representing Traylor along with Courtney Walters.
'The Supreme Court of Arizona has twice disciplined attorney Sheree Wright for committing numerous violations of the rules of professional conduct, and she is currently serving a two-year probation with the State Bar of Arizona,' a Suns spokeswoman said.
'This time, Ms. Wright and her client have made absurd accusations of misconduct surrounding the security department of the Phoenix Suns. These allegations are delusional and categorically false.'
In a November 2024 interview with Phoenix Mag Bartelstein, a former college basketball player, praised his wife Sydney's influence on his day-to-day life.
'This job is incredibly demanding. It's the best job ever, but it's long hours, high-stress and pressure, and public-facing. And I travel a lot,' he said. 'Me and Sydney have done it together, and she's a huge reason why I love what I get to do.'
Cunningham (right), is now Caitlin Clark's teammate, after getting traded to the Indiana Fever
Bartelstein, 35, is the CEO of both the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and the WNBA's Mercury
It has been announced that Cunningham will miss the second game of the Fever's 2025 WNBA season on Tuesday due to an ankle injury sustained in a preseason game against Atlanta Dream on May 10.
Without Cunningham, the Fever rampaged to an emphatic 93-58 win against Chicago Sky on Saturday, with Clark's ongoing rivalry with Angel Reese stealing the headlines.
In the third quarter, Clark knocked Reese to the ground in a bid to stop her scoring an east two points - a move that referees upgraded to a flagrant foul.
Reese was livid with Clark, with teammates on both sides intervening to hold her back while Clark walked away from the situation.
Reese appeared to yell 'you crazy f***' in Clark's direction before she stepped away from the court to cool off.
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