As the New York Times reports, while he was in the position of Security Director for the National Basketball Association ("NBA"), Warren Glover tried to do what was right. Glover repeatedly contacted his superiors to inform them that women in his office were being either sexually harassed or discriminated against. Allegedly, instead of the NBA taking Glover's concerns seriously, they ignored him and eventually fired him in retaliation for his complaints.
Glover, who continually received exemplary reviews from his superiors including being considered "one of the best security professionals.... [they had] ever worked with," is now suing the NBA following his dismissal last month for lost wages and damages. Glover alleges that his dismissal was not related to the quality of his work, rather, he was fired because of his willingness to speak out against the harassment taking place in his office. Glover further alleges that senior NBA security officials denied him promotions, demeaned him, and treated him differently from other employees because of this willingness to speak out.
The animosity towards Glover may have began in 2010 when his sworn testimony was a major force behind the dismissal of a senior NBA official in connection to a sexual harassment claim. Other top NBA security officials may have feared a similar fate because of Glover's willingness to speak out, leading to them to act preemptively and fire Glover.
This case is indicative of an unfortunate truth in workplace discrimination, that fear of retaliation prevents workplace discrimination suits from being brought. Retaliation, however, is forbidden under the human rights laws. Schwartz and Perry is a New York employment law firm that focuses on representing victims of workplace discrimination.
The full article can be found at the New York Times website.