Diamond Sports, the bankrupt company that operates Bally Sports Arizona, has sued the Phoenix Suns and Mercury and new media partners Gray Television, Inc. and direct-to-consumer streaming app Kiswe Wednesday morning, according to a story by The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan.

Both clubs announced last week a media rights deal with the two channels “to deliver all of each team's locally broadcast games via over-the-air television and streaming.” The Suns said in a statement they expected to reach 2.8 million homes in Arizona for games in the new deal.

Suns and Mercury fans have complained about Bally Sports Arizona since it does not allow viewership for those with streaming services.

Diamond, which last week said the Suns and Mercury's deal is a breach of contract, filed an emergency motion for a stay to prevent the Suns from completing the deal.

According to The Athletic:

“The Suns’ failure to comply with their contractual duties, and Diamond Arizona’s potential loss of approximately 70 games of NBA content provided by the Suns each season, puts Diamond Arizona’s business at significant peril, thereby directly threatening its ability to reorganize,” Diamond wrote in the emergency motion for a stay. “The Suns’ deliberate disregard of its contractual duties to Diamond Arizona is specifically the type of action the automatic stay is meant to protect against.”

An “automatic stay” is the freezing of all contracts and pending litigation that occurs in bankruptcy.

Phoenix said their agreement “is subject to the approval of the NBA and WNBA and any required resolution with the incumbent regional sports partner.” Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia said in a radio appearance with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM last week he was not concerned about action from Diamond.

“I’m not worried about it at all,” Ishbia said. “We’re doing right by the fans and community. … It’s really not even a concern of mine. The reality is that company’s got their own issues, we wish them nothing but the best, they were great for us for a while.

“I hope they’re successful in anything they do but we’re focusing on what’s best for this franchise and the Phoenix Mercury and our fan base, and that’s why I made that decision.”

According to Kaplan, Diamond is seeking for the court to void the Suns' and Mercury's agreement and award damages, possibly including punitive.

Diamond claims it sent a letter to the team the week before the Suns announced the media deal.

“Diamond sent a letter to Gray and the Suns “demanding (a) that the Suns and Gray immediately cease and desist from entering into and announcing a new deal and (b) that the Suns comply with their obligations under the Agreement,” according to Diamond’s court filing. “Diamond Arizona made it clear in both letters that it viewed the actions of the Suns and Gray as a willful violation of the automatic stay, breach of contract by the Suns, and in Gray’s case, also a tortious interference with Diamond Arizona’s Agreement with the Suns.”

The Suns could not be reached for immediate comment, Kaplan said.

The Suns are hoping to deliver more games through local channels ‘CBS 5' and ‘3TV.'

For more on this story, check out Kaplan's article.