Two minority owners of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury filed a lawsuit against the teams on August 21. ESPN reported the duo, who were brought in under former owner Robert Sarver, sued the Suns and the Mercury and have alleged Ishbia will not give them access to relevant internal records.
The lawsuit was filed in Delaware under seal, which means sensitive information cannot be shared with the public. The attorneys who filed the suit represent Kisco WC Sports II and Kent Circle Investments. Though their clients have not been publicly named, ESPN noted Andy Kohlberg is the founder, CEO, and president of Kisco and Scott Seldin is the president of Kent Circle. Notably, Kohlberg and Seldin were the only two of 16 partners who did not sell their stakes in the teams to Ishbia in 2023.
Sarver sold the Mercury and Sun to Ishbia in 2023 amid allegations of racism and misogyny in the franchise. Sarver was fined $10 million and suspended for one year by the NBA after an investigation into those allegations found he engaged in "workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies," the Guardian reported at the time.
Sarver "repeated or purported to repeat the N-word on at least five occasions spanning his tenure with the Suns" and used "demeaning language" toward women who worked for him.
Why are the Phoenix Mercury being sued?
The Mercury are currently owned by Ishbia, who is also the majority owner of the Suns. It appears both teams are named in the lawsuit due to that connection, and it's not necessarily true that anyone under the Mercury umbrella did anything untoward.
"Our clients sued to obtain records to which they are entitled as minority owners of the Suns," attorneys Michael Carlinsky and Michael Barlow said in a statement given to ESPN. "They are concerned by the manager's approach towards minority owners, and want more information about certain spending and capital raises in which the manager has engaged. Transparency with minority owners is not optional, and our clients think it is critical to the success of the Suns."
What have the Mercury and Suns said about the lawsuit?
So far the Mercury have not issued a statement, and ESPN noted the Sun "declined to comment." The lawsuit is the sixth to be filed against the organization since November 2023.
What does the Mercury and Suns lawsuit say?
Carlinsky and Barlow have also noted that they believe Ishbia may have entered into his own "side deals" and that they have not been able to get information about money spent on or by the team. Their clients also apparently "raised issue" with paying for the Mercury's $100 million practice facility, which opened last summer.