Suns fire employee who sued the team
The Phoenix Suns have fired an employee who is currently suing the team for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Gene Traylor, who served as the Suns’ director of security, protection, and risk management, was fired on Friday. Traylor joined the team in January 2023.Courtney Walters, another of Traylor’s attorneys, stated that neither Traylor nor his attorneys publicized his dismissal. According to Walters, the Suns’ attempt to divert attention with a false narrative is part of a pattern and a clear effort to shift focus away from the serious accusations in this lawsuit. The “so-called independent investigation” was a pretext and a convenient cover-up to justify a termination based on retaliation, not on the truth. As part of the lawsuit, Traylor’s attorneys plan to file a discovery request for the Suns to produce all materials related to the investigation of Traylor that led to his dismissal. Traylor’s lawyers sued the Suns in the U.S. District Court in Arizona in mid-May. In total, five civil lawsuits have been filed in federal court against the organization by current or former employees within a 10-month period. The latest lawsuit was filed in July, when the lawyers representing the former interim coach of the Phoenix Mercury, Nikki Blue, filed a lawsuit against the organization, alleging discrimination based on race and gender, as well as retaliation. In his lawsuit, Traylor said one of his main functions was to identify security, financial, and reputational risks for the Suns. In 2023, Traylor presented a presentation to management, detailing specific incidents of concern. Traylor alleged that the presentation led Suns management to retaliate against him, including his demotion nearly a year later. He also alleged that the team discouraged him from taking protected leave after he was diagnosed with cancer. The lawsuit states that on December 17, 2023, the Phoenix Police Department conducted a field test of security measures at the Suns’ stadium during a game. Undercover officers attempted to enter the stadium using valid tickets for the game while concealing weapons. Two of the officers were able to bring a knife into the stadium undetected. On December 3, 2024, officers from the same department conducted another field test of security measures and successfully brought two pistols and a knife through security. The reports from both field tests were obtained. “The safety of the guests is our top priority,” a Suns spokesperson previously said. The Traylor lawsuit says that in February 2025, the NBA conducted its own stadium safety audit of the team, and the Suns also failed that test. The audit, Traylor said, was a surprise, one that the league regularly conducts at NBA arenas, and not in response to any concerns he raised or the February 2024 test that, according to him, the Suns failed. Since 2024, the team has failed several other league security audits, according to three team sources. The Suns disputed that claim, saying they have never failed a security audit.While the organization typically does not comment on internal personnel matters, Mr. Traylor, or his attorney, Sheree Wright, apparently chose to make his termination public. Mr. Traylor was fired from his position as security manager because an external independent investigation concluded that he violated company policies regarding confidential information about security operations and was intentionally untruthful with the investigator.
Stacey Mitch, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Suns
