NBA Fired Security Officer Over Sex Bias Claims: Suit
By Abigail Rubenstein
Law360, New York (December 15, 2011, 4:45 PM ET) -- A former NBA security officer sued the sports league Thursday, claiming he was fired in retaliation for bringing his female colleagues' complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination to his supervisors' attention.
In a complaint filed in New York state court, former security director Warren Glover alleges he was fired in July after being subjected to years of retaliatory discrimination for relaying his female co-workers' concerns.
Glover, a former lieutenant commander for the New York Police Department who began working for the NBA in 2001, claims he was denied promotions and an appropriate salary and faced threats and unjustified negative performance evaluations before his termination.
"The NBA created a hostile work environment against women, and when Mr. Glover had the audacity to complain about it, he was treated from that point forward as a persona non grata and a pariah," Glover's attorney Randolph M. McLaughlin of Newman Ferrara LLP told Law360.
In addition to the NBA, the complaint names as defendants Bernard Tolbert, the the league's former senior vice president of security, who acted as Glover's direct supervisor; Gregory Robinson, the NBA's director of security, who also supervised Glover; and the current senior vice president of security James Cawley, who supervised Glover after Tolbert cut ties with the league.
The suit maintains that Glover brought complaints by several women in the security department, who said they were being harassed or discriminated against, to the attention of various supervisors who failed to act on the claims.
Among the women on whose behalf Glover allegedly complained of gender discrimination was his administrative assistant Annette Smith, who he says regularly complained to him about Tolbert's conduct toward her.
In 2008, Smith quit her job and filed a lawsuit against Tolbert and the NBA. In her suit, Smith alleged the league had a pattern of discriminating against women, that she had been denied promotions because of her complaints against Tolbert and that she had been forced to prepare a presentation for rookie NBA players that included what she believed to be pornographic images.
Glover gave a deposition in Smith's lawsuit, and the suit ultimately resulted in a "sizable settlement awarded to Smith," according to the complaint.
The suit further alleges that Glover advocated on behalf of other women, including one who was disparaged publicly after rejecting a supervisor's sexual advances and another who claimed a supervisor displayed pornographic material on his computer and made offensive remarks.
Glover claims his performance evaluations were glowing until he began reporting instances of harassment and discrimination against women, when his evaluation scores inexplicably plummeted.
After he was fired on what he claims was a pretext that he was not properly doing his job, Glover discovered he was the NBA's lowest-paid security director despite his years of service, the complaint says.
The lawsuit asserts that the league and Glover's supervisors' conduct toward him violated New York state and New York city human rights laws.
"Mr. Glover's allegations are without merit, and we will vigorously defend against them," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
The suit seeks an award of compensatory damages, back pay and front pay, and punitive damages.
Glover is represented by Randolph M. McLaughlin and Jeffrey Norton of Newman Ferrara LLP.
Counsel information for the NBA was not immediately available.
The case is Glover v. National Basketball Association Inc., in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, County of New York. The case number was not immediately available.
--Editing by Elizabeth Bowen.
In a complaint filed in New York state court, former security director Warren Glover alleges he was fired in July after being subjected to years of retaliatory discrimination for relaying his female co-workers' concerns.
Glover, a former lieutenant commander for the New York Police Department who began working for the NBA in 2001, claims he was denied promotions and an appropriate salary and faced threats and unjustified negative performance evaluations before his termination.
"The NBA created a hostile work environment against women, and when Mr. Glover had the audacity to complain about it, he was treated from that point forward as a persona non grata and a pariah," Glover's attorney Randolph M. McLaughlin of Newman Ferrara LLP told Law360.
In addition to the NBA, the complaint names as defendants Bernard Tolbert, the the league's former senior vice president of security, who acted as Glover's direct supervisor; Gregory Robinson, the NBA's director of security, who also supervised Glover; and the current senior vice president of security James Cawley, who supervised Glover after Tolbert cut ties with the league.
The suit maintains that Glover brought complaints by several women in the security department, who said they were being harassed or discriminated against, to the attention of various supervisors who failed to act on the claims.
Among the women on whose behalf Glover allegedly complained of gender discrimination was his administrative assistant Annette Smith, who he says regularly complained to him about Tolbert's conduct toward her.
In 2008, Smith quit her job and filed a lawsuit against Tolbert and the NBA. In her suit, Smith alleged the league had a pattern of discriminating against women, that she had been denied promotions because of her complaints against Tolbert and that she had been forced to prepare a presentation for rookie NBA players that included what she believed to be pornographic images.
Glover gave a deposition in Smith's lawsuit, and the suit ultimately resulted in a "sizable settlement awarded to Smith," according to the complaint.
The suit further alleges that Glover advocated on behalf of other women, including one who was disparaged publicly after rejecting a supervisor's sexual advances and another who claimed a supervisor displayed pornographic material on his computer and made offensive remarks.
Glover claims his performance evaluations were glowing until he began reporting instances of harassment and discrimination against women, when his evaluation scores inexplicably plummeted.
After he was fired on what he claims was a pretext that he was not properly doing his job, Glover discovered he was the NBA's lowest-paid security director despite his years of service, the complaint says.
The lawsuit asserts that the league and Glover's supervisors' conduct toward him violated New York state and New York city human rights laws.
"Mr. Glover's allegations are without merit, and we will vigorously defend against them," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
The suit seeks an award of compensatory damages, back pay and front pay, and punitive damages.
Glover is represented by Randolph M. McLaughlin and Jeffrey Norton of Newman Ferrara LLP.
Counsel information for the NBA was not immediately available.
The case is Glover v. National Basketball Association Inc., in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, County of New York. The case number was not immediately available.
--Editing by Elizabeth Bowen.