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04/24 15:04 CDT Ex-minor league umpire sues MLB, says he was harassed by female
ump, fired for being bisexual man
Ex-minor league umpire sues MLB, says he was harassed by female ump, fired for
being bisexual man
By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- A fired minor league umpire sued Major League Baseball on
Wednesday, claiming he was sexually harassed by a female umpire and
discriminated against because he is male and bisexual.
Brandon Cooper, an umpire who worked in the minor league Arizona Complex League
last year, filed the suit in federal court in Manhattan against MLB and PDL
Blue Inc., an affiliated entity.
"Historically the MLB has had a homogenous roster of umpires working in both
the minor and major leagues," the suit claimed. "Specifically, to date there
has never been a woman who has worked in a (regular) season game played in the
majors, and most umpires are still Caucasian men. To try to fix its gender and
racial diversity issue, defendants have implemented an illegal diversity quota
requiring that women be promoted regardless of merit."
Cooper's suit says he attended umpire training camps in 2022 and '23 and was
told by former umpire Ed Rapuano, now an umpire evaluator, and Darren
Spagnardi, an umpire development supervisor, in January 2023 that MLB had to
include at least two women among 10 new hires.
Cooper says he was invited to spring training in 2023, put on a taxi squad and
informed by Dusty Dellinger, senior manager of umpire administration, that
women and minority candidates had to be hired first. Cooper was assigned to the
ACL in late March and said he received a high rating in June from former big
league umpire Jim Reynolds, now an umpire supervisor.
Cooper alleged fellow umpire Gina Quartararo, then in the ACL and now in the
Florida State League, learned that Cooper was bisexual and derided him and
fellow umpire Kevin Bruno with homophobic slurs and crude remarks. Cooper said
he notified Dellinger, then was told by MLB he had to undergo sensitivity
training and later that he was being accused of violating the minor league
anti-discrimination and harassment policy.
Billy Bean, MLB's senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, met
with Cooper, the lawsuit said, and informed the umpire that Quartararo claimed
she was victimized as the only female umpire in the ACL. Cooper said he told
Bean there was video evidence of Quartararo's alleged misconduct, which
included physical action.
Cooper said he was skipped for the playoffs and fired in October, and he
claimed he was the only one let go from among 26 umpires in the group that was
hired.
He alleged a hostile work environment and wrongful termination and/or
retaliation because of gender and sexual orientation under New York state and
city law. MLB is based in New York.
MLB declined to comment on pending litigation, according to spokesman Michael
Teevan, and also said it was attempting to contact Quartararo to check if she
wanted to comment. Quartararo was among nine women who are working as minor
league umpires this season.
Jen Pawol this year became the first woman to umpire major league spring
training since 2007 and is working at Triple-A, one level below the majors. She
is in position to be a vacation/injury replacement callup to the big leagues.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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