On Tuesday, news broke about a lawsuit filed by Gene Traylor, the former director of safety, security, and risk management for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, alleging workplace issues under new owner Mat Ishbia.
As part of the lawsuit, Traylor alleged that Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and former Mercury player Sophie Cunningham (who now plays for the Indiana Fever) engaged in an affair. Cornelius Craig, vice president of security and risk management for the Suns, supposedly relayed the information to him.
Tuesday afternoon, a Suns spokesperson wholly denied the claims. “The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible,” Suns spokesperson Stacy Mitch told Front Office Sports.
That denial, however, did not stop many media outlets from spreading the salacious rumor with little regard for its veracity.
Now, Cunningham has responded, calling out the “irresponsible” media that helped the story take off.
pic.twitter.com/CTXQdV04wn
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) May 21, 2025
“I am deeply saddened by the recent false accusations made against me by Gene Traylor, someone I do not know and have never met,” Cunningham’s statement began. “Let me be clear, his statements are untrue and extremely hurtful.
“To the media who reported on this,” Cunningham continued, “I have always spoken the truth and been transparent with any press inquiry. In this instance it feels irresponsible that I was never asked for a comment about the accusation before several clickbait stories went to print.
“I will not let untrue gossip take my focus away from what is most important to me which is basketball, my supportive team, and my fans,” she concluded.
Mitch, the Suns’ spokesperson, alleges that Traylor’s lawyer, Sheree Wright, is opportunistically bringing lawsuits against the Suns to force a settlement. Wright represents four plaintiffs in suits against the organization, all alleging workplace misconduct, per Front Office Sports.
“[Wright] continues to insert salacious lies and fabrications into her complaints—knowing that the media may report them as fact, as happened yesterday—she hopes to coerce the Phoenix Suns into settling,” Mitch said. “Sheree Wright will not extort our organization and never see a single dollar.”
“If our goal were to pressure the Suns into settling, we would have taken the opportunity to mediate and pause the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] and Attorney General’s investigations long ago,” Wright told Front Office Sports. “I’m not interested in litigating this in the media. I will respond in court—where evidence, not headlines, decides the outcome.”
No matter the merits of the case, it seems the details about Cunningham’s alleged affair, which both she and the organization deny, are tangential to the actual lawsuit. Such suggestive accusations are likely included to get picked up by the media, thereby drawing more attention to the case.