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Baxter Holmes
The Phoenix Suns have fired an employee who is suing the team for discrimination, harassment and retaliation, ESPN has learned.
The employee, Gene Traylor, who served as the Suns’ director of safety, security and risk management and who joined the team in January 2023, was fired on Friday.
“While the organization typically does not comment on internal personnel matters, Mr. Traylor, or his attorney, Sheree Wright, apparently opted to publicize his termination,” Stacey Mitch, the Suns’ Senior Vice President of Communications, said in a statement to ESPN. “Mr. Traylor was terminated from his position as a security manager because an independent, outside investigation concluded that he violated company policies with respect to confidential information about security operations and he was intentionally untruthful with the investigator.”
Wright is one attorney representing Traylor. The other is Courtney Walters, who wrote in a statement to ESPN, “Neither Mr. Traylor nor his attorneys publicized his termination. The Suns’ attempt to deflect by pushing a false narrative is part of a pattern and a clear effort to shift focus away from the serious claims in this lawsuit. The so-called ‘independent investigation’ was a pretext and a convenient cover to justify a termination rooted in retaliation, not truth. The organization’s response only reinforces the very conduct at issue. We will continue standing by our client’s side throughout the legal process.”
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 termination.
Traylor’s attorneys sued the Suns in U.S. District Court in Arizona in mid-May.
All told, there have been five civil lawsuits filed in federal court against the organization by current or former employees in a 10-month span.
The latest lawsuit came in July, when attorneys representing former Phoenix Mercury interim coach Nikki Blue filed a lawsuit against the organization, alleging race and gender discrimination as well as retaliation.
In his lawsuit, Traylor said one of his primary roles was to identify safety, financial and reputational risks for the Suns. In 2023, Traylor submitted a presentation for management, which was previously reviewed by ESPN, that outlined specific incidents of concern.
Traylor alleged the presentation led Suns management to retaliate against him, including having him demoted nearly a year later. He also alleged that the team discouraged him from taking protected leave after he was diagnosed with cancer.
The lawsuit stated that on Dec. 17, 2023, the Phoenix Police Department’s Homeland Defense Bureau conducted a field test of the security measures at the Suns’ arena during a game. Plainclothes officers attempted to enter the arena using valid game tickets while concealing weapons. Two of the officers were able to bring a knife into the arena undetected.
On Dec. 3, 2024, officers from the same department conducted another field test of the security measures and successfully brought in two handguns and one knife through security.
ESPN obtained the reports of both field tests.
“Guest safety is our top priority,” a Suns spokeswoman previously told ESPN. “We continue to meet and exceed safety expectations. We regularly conduct security tests, which is standard across the industry. We have used these proactive measures to ensure we are operating at the highest level of safety and preparedness.”
Traylor’s lawsuit said that in February 2025, the NBA conducted its own security audit of the team’s arena, and the Suns failed that test as well. The audit, Traylor said, was a surprise — one the league regularly performs at arenas across the NBA — and not in response to any concerns he raised or to the February 2024 test that he said the Suns failed.
Since 2024, the team has failed multiple other league security audits, three team sources previously told ESPN.
The Suns disputed that allegation, saying they have never failed a security audit.