Sophie Cunningham Affair CEO Deny Statement WNBA
© Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Sophie Cunningham finally issued a statement about her alleged affair with Phoenix Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein to deny all of “untrue gossip.” She also claims never to have met the accuser.
Meanwhile, the WNBA and the WNBAPA remain eerily silent.
Cunningham, currently in the middle of her first WNBA season with the Fever, spent the last six years as a member of the Mercury. The 28-year-old shooting guard was traded from Phoenix to Indiana during this past offseason. That timing is important to keep in mind.
Gene Traylor, a former director of security, filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix Suns (and its partners, like the Mercury) on May 13. He accuses multiple high-ranking executives of racial discrimination and of ignoring urgent safety concerns for its players. He also makes claims about an ongoing affair between Cunningham and Bartlestein. The Vice President of Security and Risk Management supposedly shared the information with him. He included the information in his lawsuit.
Plaintiff also shared with Bartelstein that Craig had been spreading damaging information about him that could jeopardize the organization.
When Bartelstein asked Plaintiff to reveal what Craig was saying, Plaintiff explained that Craig had been telling others, “Josh Bartelstein is f—— Sophie Cunningham.” Additionally, Plaintiff requested that Bartelstein speak with the security team about Craig’s behavior. The Plaintiff further expressed frustration that complaints made to the People & Culture department had not been addressed.
— Gene Traylor vs Sports & Entertainment Services, LLC
A representative for the Phoenix Suns offered a scathing statement of denial to Front Office Sports. Stacey Mitch told the publication: “The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible.” She also went on to trash Traylor’s lawyer.
Sheree 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. Sheree Wright will not extort our organization and never see a single dollar. We will pursue all available legal avenues and hold those accountable for participating in the spread of misleading and false narratives.
— Stacey Mitch, via Front Office Sports
Mitch told Front Office Sports that she is not interested in litigating this lawsuit in the media and will instead “respond in court— where evidence, not headlines, decides the outcome.” Her comments obviously stand by the plaintiff and his claims while the organization denies any such affair.
As does Sophie Cunningham, who issued the following statement:
I am deeply saddened by the recent false accusations made against me by Gene Traylor, someone I do not know and have never met. Let me be clear his statements are untrue and extremely hurtful.
I am here to compete, play basketball at the highest level and win for my team and my fans, while inspiring other women that they can do or be anything they ever dream of becoming. I hold myself to the highest integrity and my values are what guide me on and off the court.
To the media who reported on this, 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.
— Sophie Cunningham
I wholeheartedly believe Cunningham. I do not think this affair happened. However, there were multiple requests for comment that went unanswered despite what she said in her statement. For example:
Representatives for Cunningham did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The guard was traded to the Fever in the offseason and her new team did not respond to a request for comment.
— Front Office Sports
And the fact is this— even if the affair did not happen, Cunningham and Bartelstein are still named in the lawsuit as having inappropriate relations before the latter traded the former. That is news worth talking about!
What I do not understand is the WNBA’s lack of comment on the matter. I am not aware of the ongoings behind the scenes and I know the legal aspect of this latest saga plays a big role in how the league can respond. And yet, a league that was so quick to open an investigation into other recent incidents chose to stay silent on perhaps the biggest (likely untrue) scandal in WNBA history. No acknowledgement of the allegations. No promise to get to the bottom of what happened. Nothing.
Sophie Cunningham does not have the league behind her— publicly, at least. That’s a shame!