A recent lawsuit against the Suns by the team’s former director of security included a claim that the team’s CEO and a former Phoenix Mercury player were having an affair.

The Suns denied the claim in a statement Tuesday. The NBA and WNBA teams share ownership.

“The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible,” Suns spokesperson Stacey Mitch told Front Office Sports. “Let’s be absolutely clear about the origin of these claims.”

The claims in question, which are not the focus of the lawsuit, relate to a rumored affair between Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and ex-Mercury player Sophie Cunningham, who was traded to the Indiana Fever in February.

Cunningham, who has not appeared in a game yet this season as she deals with an ankle injury, responded on social media Wednesday afternoon. “I am deeply saddened by the recent false allegations made against me by Gene Traylor, someone I do not know and have never met,” she wrote on Instagram. “Let me be clear, his statements are untrue and extremely hurtful.

“I am here to compete, play basketball at the highest level and win for my team and my fans, while inspiring other women that they can do or be anything they ever dream of becoming,” she added. “I hold myself to the highest integrity and my values are what guide me on and off the court.”

The lawsuit from Traylor—the team’s former director of safety, security and risk management—centers around Traylor’s claims that the...

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