FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets are accused in a lawsuit by a former team vice president of firing her as part of the organization's response to allegations of sexual misconduct made against team President Hymie Elhai.
The Athletic reported that the lawsuit, which it obtained Friday, was filed Thursday by Elaine Chen, the Jets' former vice president of finance, who says she and her husband Larry Fitzpatrick, the team's former vice president of ticket sales, were fired as retaliation after the claims were made against Elhai.
Elhai has been with the organization since 2000 and became the team’s president in 2019.
In a statement to the Athletic, the Jets said the accusations against Elhai were investigated and deemed “baseless.” The team also said it plans to countersue Chen and Fitzpatrick for defamation and libel.
In her lawsuit, Chen said an anonymous email was sent to several team employees accusing Elhai of sending inappropriate text messages to female employees, as well as other incidents of misconduct.
Chen said in her lawsuit that the Jets, during their internal investigation, targeted people in the organization who “supported the allegations against Elhai and/or the belief that Mr. Elhai’s sexual conduct warranted an actual investigation and/or disciplinary action."
Chen said Fitzpatrick received a copy of the email, was “interrogated” about it by the Jets and was soon fired after confirming the allegations against Elhai.
According to the Athletic, the Jets said Chen participated in a “fabricated email” and the text messages and interactions attributed to Elhai were “grossly over-exaggerated and positioned for the sole purpose of the fabricated narrative.”
The Jets also said in the statement to the Athletic that the former employee responsible for the original email acknowledged during the team's investigation that the allegations against Elhai were false and they “worked with Fitzpatrick to facilitate the email.”
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FILE - New York Jets president Hymie Elhai looks on as players warm up before an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Oct. 8, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
