Defiant Suns owner Mat Ishbia calls multiple lawsuits team is facing a 'money grab'

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PHOENIX (AP) — Defiant Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia says he's not worried about the multiple lawsuits his franchise is facing, with claims ranging from discrimination to wrongful termination.

Ishbia called the lawsuits a “money grab” on Wednesday at Suns media day.

The franchise have been sued multiple times since 2024. Most recently, two minority owners of the Suns sued Ishbia in August, demanding to see records in order to investigate the status of the team’s business and financial condition.

“As you guys know, anyone can file a lawsuit on any day they want for any reason they want,” Ishbia said. "I could file a lawsuit for that question, right? But the truth is, you've actually got to win a lawsuit.

“Where I'm different than most successful people, or people that you say have a lot money, is we don't settle. So if we don't do anything wrong, I'm not paying someone. If their threat is they're going to go to the media and write (about) a lawsuit, have fun. Cool. Write it.”

Ishbia continued: “I hope you guys all report on how many lawsuits we actually lose. Because we haven't lost one of them and we're not going to lose any of them, to be honest, because they're ridiculous.”

Among the lawsuits the team is facing:

In July, the Suns confirmed it fired Gene Traylor, a former security manager who filed a lawsuit against the team in May alleging discrimination, harassment and unlawful retaliation. The team said at the time that Traylor was terminated after an outside investigation found he’d violated company policies regarding confidential information.

Earlier in July, former Mercury interim coach Nikki Blue filed a lawsuit against the organization, alleging unequal treatment based on race and gender, unequal pay based on race and that her employment was terminated in retaliation for complaints about unequal treatment.

In November, Andrea Trischan sued the team, alleging racial discrimination and unlawful retaliation that led to her termination. Trischan was the team’s former manager of diversity, equity and inclusion for about 10 months in 2022 and 2023.

Ishbia, a mortgage executive, bought a majority stake of the Suns and Phoenix Mercury from embattled owner Robert Sarver for $4 billion. Ishbia and his brother Justin said then that they would be acquiring more than 50% of the franchises, which includes the entirety of Sarver’s share as well as some holdings from minority partners.

The sale was officially approved in February 2023.

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AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.

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