A longtime Phoenix Suns employee resigned from the team last month, claiming to have been the target of bullying and retaliation by his boss after expressing concern about gender equality and illegal activity within the organization. According to the documentation obtained by ESPN.
Melissa Fender Panagiota Copros, who started working at Sands in August 2007, sent a resignation email on May 20 to 16 members of the ownership group, including the majority owner Robert Sarver.
Her resignation came in November after ESPN released a story detailing racism and misogyny allegations in the sometimes hostile and toxic workplace during his 17-year tenure as a server majority owner. It happened during the NBA’s investigation into the server and Sands workplaces that the league started in. The server denied most of her claims in ESPN’s report.
Panagiotakopoulos wrote in a resignation email that he was sending to “major stakeholders” to “allow this group to influence positive change.”
She did not specifically mention Sarver’s issues or appoint individual employees.
Panagiotakopoulos recently held the title of Senior Premium Experience Manager. It is responsible for helping to generate revenue from high-level clients. She held her position from April 2014 until her resignation.
In an email also sent to the Head of Human Resources at Sands, Panagiotakopoulos made a list of claims that “each of these points creates culture and constitutes the character of our leadership.” Provided.
She said, “The ability of managers to receive commissions, cherry-pick transactions, revise suite lease terms to fit in their pockets, and operate differently from other sales organizations without a truly consistent system. Claimed that there was an intrinsic conflict of interest with or overlooked. “
She also claimed injustice and sexism, saying, “Is it a coincidence that I was the only mother in the entire sales organization for the past 15 years? Is it because certain men were paid more in equal roles? ? “Is written.
She then argued for the issue of talent’s ability to maintain relevance and influence the C suite-lack of follow-up, ability to resolve conflicts, or real concerns about employee well-being.
“We are aware of allegations from former employees and are conducting investigations in line with respect for workplace policy,” the Sands Legacy Partners organization said in a statement filed with ESPN. “Phoenix Suns is committed to creating a safe, respectful and comprehensive work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We do not tolerate retaliation for reports of alleged misconduct. “
Despite the team’s recent court success, Panagiotakopoulos writes that the organization is “more dysfunctional and the culture is eroding more rapidly than ever before.”
Panagiotakopoulos, who declined to comment on this story, also wrote a note to the team’s Human Resources department on November 10 less than a week after the first ESPN story was published, including gender discrimination. He wrote that he had previously expressed the problem.
Attached to an email sent to Sands owners on May 20 and obtained by ESPN, the memo reveals that “for many years, Sands organizations have not placed the same value on raising women. In their workforce, or even in ensuring that they are treated equally compared to their male counterparts. “
In that memo, Panagiotakopoulos claimed that a male colleague with similar tenure but less responsibility was paid a higher rate and was allowed to work from home.
“As a working mother, I was rejected when I demanded the same flexibility,” she wrote. “I have observed this kind of injustice throughout the Sands organization and personally experienced gender illicit activity as described in recent media reports. And my concern was the Human Resources Department and Leadership ( When I tried to share it with (including the highest level individuals)), I was fired-and was once even told to “take a cold shower”. “
In her resignation, Panagiotakopoulos referred to a November note: “There has been consistent retaliation and bullying by my direct leaders since the secret exchanges with senior management, personnel and legal affairs.” I am.
“Above all, they excluded me from the client’s supper and scrutinized all my moves, decisions, and emails with intolerable levels of micromanagement,” she writes.
“My job has become more intolerable and toxic than ever,” said Panagiotakopoulos.
