Suns owner Mat Ishbia accused of anti-gay slur in voicemail tirade

Mat Ishbia, billionaire owner of the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Mercury, is under fire for a leaked voicemail in which he reportedly referred to business rivals as “cocksuckers.”

“We fucking took those cocksuckers down, fuck them, and we’re gonna keep fucking sticking it to them forever," Ishbia said in the voicemail.

Ishbia is the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale mortgage broker in the U.S., according to its website.

The voicemail has not been verified by Phoenix New Times. Hunterbrook Media reported that the audio file of the message was leaked earlier this year to a Facebook group with more than 5,000 members called “Rocket Pro TPO vs UWM.”

Hunterbrook claims it “ran the voicemail through generative AI detection software, which appeared to confirm that it was not a deepfake.”

Hunterbrook Media is affiliated with Hunterbrook Capital, a hedge fund that recently shorted United Wholesale Mortgage’s stock. In other words, the hedge fund bet the stock of Ishbia's company would fall.

Palmer Black, basketball communications manager for the Suns, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. Neither did Nicole Roberts, senior public relations strategist at United Wholesale Mortgage.

Cyd Zeigler Jr., a co-founder of Outsports, a media outlet focusing on LGBTQ+ personalities and issues in sports, expressed outrage and disbelief over Ishbia's purported comment. Ziegler also noted he was skeptical about the voicemail.

“It seems impossible that in 2024 an NBA owner would say this," Ziegler told New Times. "I question (the voicemail’s) validity, and if he said this, he is disqualified from being an owner of an NBA team. There is no defense for using that term. Zero. Anybody who uses that term knows what they are saying.”

When Ishbia bought the pro teams in 2023, he took control of franchises with at least two top executives who are gay. In 2023, Outsports named Ryan Resch, the Suns vice president and assistant general manager, the 15th most powerful LGBTQ+ person in sports. Resch came out in June 2022. Phoenix Mercury President Vince Kozar is also gay.

On Wednesday, the Suns celebrated Pride Night at Footprint Center during their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Eric Bloem, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at LGBTQ+ group Human Rights Campaign, called Ishbia's comments "disgraceful."

“Anti-LGBTQ+ slurs perpetuate stigma and give credence to bias against LGBTQ+ people, especially when it comes from the top of the corporate ladder,” Bloem said in a written statement to New Times. “This type of disgraceful choice in language signals to paying customers and fans — many of whom are LGBTQ+ or allies — that they are unwelcome.”

Ishbia’s predecessor as owner of the Suns and Mercury, Robert Sarver, was fined $10 million and suspended by the NBA in September 2022 after a league investigation found that Sarver was engaging in workplace misconduct, including the use of racial slurs.