On Friday, the Phoenix Suns fired Gene Traylor, their director of safety, security and risk management. He is currently filing lawsuits against organizations that discriminate, harass and retaliate. ESPN’s Baxter Holmes first reported.
Traylor has been on the team since January 2023.
According to the lawsuit, Treller believes he discriminated against management to illustrate the flaws in the security process.
Suns Senior Vice President of Communications Sheree Wright issued a statement.
“Mr. Trayer was terminated as a security manager because an independent external investigation concluded that he violated the company’s policy on confidential information about security operations and that he deliberately did not implement it against investigators.”
On December 17, 2023, the Phoenix Police Department’s Land and Defense Department conducted on-site tests on the safety measures of the PHX Arena during the game. Plainclothes officers attempt to enter the arena with valid game tickets while hiding their weapons. Two can be entered with undiscovered knives.
About a year later, another field test was conducted. This time, they were able to enter with two pistols and a knife.
According to the lawsuit, the NBA conducted its own security audit in February 2025. The Sun also failed to perform the test.
Not the first Sun lawsuit recently
This is the fifth civil lawsuit filed by a current or former employee against the organization in the past ten months.
The final lawsuit was filed by then-coach Nikki Blue attorney at the time. The lawsuit alleges racial and gender discrimination and retaliation.
Hire Traylor to determine the security, financial and reputational risks of your organization. Traylor was demoted a year after his speech.
A Suns spokeswoman said earlier: “Guest safety is our top priority.” “We continue to meet and exceed safety expectations. We conduct regular safety tests, which are standard across the industry.
“We have taken these positive measures to ensure we are at the highest level of safety and readiness.”
