The Josh Bartlestein Problem

[JJ Slim]

More Suns legal trouble
https://brobible.com/sports/article/sop ... s-lawsuit/

Sophie Cunningham is named in the latest lawsuit against the Phoenix Suns. She is accused of having an affair with CEO Josh Bartelstein.

Check out the latest comment on this IG post. Ouch!

[TOO]

Go Sonics.

[Singh]

bartelstein needs to get run out of town. Classic example of somebody who rode his dad's coattails and now it doesn't think the rules apply to him.

[JeremyG]

[Kryptonic]

Here's the problem... IF it's true, the same attorney that brought up the previous cases is going to kill any chance of this case finding credibility in a courtroom, let alone the court of public opinion. I'm not a fan of Bartlestein at all and would think his shitty basketball decisions would have been good enough to be rid of this buffoon. Just a matter of time till we're the Flint Tropics. Go Jackie Moon!

[specialsauce]

I just knew it was a matter of time before this guy had something like this come out. Honestly was expecting worse

[Mori Chu]

Uh oh.

[Kryptonic]

Good call making it a thread.

[TOO]

Never liked the guy, always seemed outta his depth, I guess that's just how this front office is going to operate now. SMH.

[wpmiller42]

Honestly, he needs to lose his job if this is true. Forget the affair, this is a person in power having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. It's news because it's Sophie, but I don't care if it was some person in concessions.

[Singh]

Honestly, he needs to lose his job if this is true. Forget the affair, this is a person in power having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. It's news because it's Sophie, but I don't care if it was some person in concessions.

agree 100%
Every business has rules against workplace relationships (unless reported to HR) Rockets coach Ime Odeka (Spelling?) lost his job with Boston due to similar circumstances

[JJ Slim]

I'm starting to wonder if it is a thing tied to MSU culture. Between this and the Larry Nassar and football coach Mel Tucker scandals among others. Maybe that is the determination and grit Ishbia was talking about.

Edit: My mistake. I assumed Bartlestein went to MSU also. He actually went to UofMichigan. Close enough...

[Kryptonic]

Maybe that is the determination and grit Ishbia was talking about.

Evidently "Riz" was also considered.

[JJ Slim]

Just for reference:
Academic Sexual Misconduct Database - Incidents at Michigan State University - Total: 44

I went through that database and found that most colleges listed only had 1-5 incidents. There were only a handful that had 15-20. Only two had 20 and that was the closest to MSU's 44.

[Superbone]

[JeremyG]

So in turn she’s now spreading lies about Gene? He never accused her of anything. His lawsuit only accused Cornelius Craig of saying Josh was having an affair with her (see the link in the op).

[Mori Chu]

It's a mess. The person who reported on the alleged Cunningham / Bartlestein affair seems to have just thrown it out there to stir shit up and make Bartlestein and Suns management look irresponsible and harmful. It is thrown out there without any real evidence, but people love a good scandal, so it has caught a lot of attention.

You could imagine Cunningham or Bartlestein suing the person for saying that about them. But my (non-lawyer) understanding of such things is that it is hard to win a defamation lawsuit. You have to be able to reasonably prove that they made a false statement, that it was harmful to you in some clear measurable way, and that they knew it was false when they wrote/made it. The person who made the statement can just say that they had heard the rumor and believed it was true at the time, and that they were just passing on what they heard. They probably would not be found liable.

Just a bad situation all around. Suns ownership and management look bad, and now people will slut-shame Sophie Cunningham. There are things I don't like about Cunningham, but I also dislike how sex scandals seem to disproportionately cast shame on the woman. The man is often seen as a stud for having sex with the woman, and the woman is seen as a slut for being promiscuous with the man. I don't think Cunningham deserves that and I hope that isn't the way this sticks for her.

[Kryptonic]

What a mess.

[rhylek]

It's a mess. The person who reported on the alleged Cunningham / Bartlestein affair seems to have just thrown it out there to stir shit up and make Bartlestein and Suns management look irresponsible and harmful. It is thrown out there without any real evidence, but people love a good scandal, so it has caught a lot of attention.

You could imagine Cunningham or Bartlestein suing the person for saying that about them. But my (non-lawyer) understanding of such things is that it is hard to win a defamation lawsuit. You have to be able to reasonably prove that they made a false statement, that it was harmful to you in some clear measurable way, and that they knew it was false when they wrote/made it. The person who made the statement can just say that they had heard the rumor and believed it was true at the time, and that they were just passing on what they heard. They probably would not be found liable.

Just a bad situation all around. Suns ownership and management look bad, and now people will slut-shame Sophie Cunningham. There are things I don't like about Cunningham, but I also dislike how sex scandals seem to disproportionately cast shame on the woman. The man is often seen as a stud for having sex with the woman, and the woman is seen as a slut for being promiscuous with the man. I don't think Cunningham deserves that and I hope that isn't the way this sticks for her.

Don't know about the US, but here in Belgium and France, that's definitely a lawsuit with prison. Because it's on social media (that, alone, is enough), and because there's public shaming and potential professional consequences.

[Mori Chu]

I will defer to anyone who has any legal expertise, but I think US laws about defamation are less stringent than the ones in many EU countries. I could be wrong but I do not think it is likely that a person would get prison time for posting rumors overheard about a romantic affair on social media or in a document. I have no legal expertise so others can chime in if they think I am wrong.