On Monday, Fox Sports was slammed with a discrimination lawsuit by one of its former employees.
Craig James has filed a lawsuit against Fox Sports claiming that the company discriminated against him because of his religion. More specifically, the company was not in agreement with the comments that he made about the LGBT community and gay marriage. James, who previously worked for Fox as a sportscaster felt as though he had every right to voice his opinions about anti-gay beliefs in a statement he made by saying “Right now in this country, our moral fiber is sliding down a slope that is going to be hard to stop if we don’t stand up with leaders who don’t go ride in gay parades, I can assure you I will never ride in a gay parade.”
James was hired by Fox Sports in August of 2013 as an analyst for Southwest’s postgame college sports show, but he says that he was quickly terminated over the comments that he made eighteen months prior when he was running for a seat in the U.S. senate for Texas. He has requested to be monetarily compensated in the amount of $100,000 or more to cover punitive damages as well as other expenses. He claims that Fox sports publicly made him appear bigoted and after he was fired, long-time associates refused to make any contact with him. He also says he was harassed at public events by random people that he didn’t know and had been followed to the point of which he feared for his safety. Furthermore, he claims he has been unable to find employment in his field although he has substantial experience in the industry.
The executives at Fox sports stand firm in maintaining that the decision to let Mr. James go had nothing to do with his religious beliefs and say they do not discriminate against him in any way, but they did admit that his performance was not related to his termination.
Before becoming a sportscaster, James played professional football for the New England Patriots.
What You Should Know About Workplace Discrimination:
In New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey workplace discrimination is a violation of federal laws. It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against job applicants or employees based on disability, national origin, race, age, gender/sex or religion.
What You Should Know About Religious Discrimination:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids companies from practicing religious discrimination in any form. It also forbids a company from retaliating against an employee who reports any complaints of discrimination or participation in an investigation concerning the complaint. Our Religious Discrimination Attorneys offer free legal advice consultation and charge no fee unless we collect for you.
When it comes to religion, Title VII does not allow:
- For an employee or applicant to be treated differently because of their religious practices, beliefs or lack of beliefs.
- For employees to be subjected to any form of harassment due to their religious practices, beliefs or lack thereof.
- For employees (or applicants) to be denied a legitimate accommodation of his or her religious practices, beliefs or lack of beliefs.
- For employees (or applicants) to be retaliated against when filing a complaint or participating in an investigation regarding that complaint.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of religious discrimination or any other form of discrimination in a New York City, Miami, New Jersey or Philadelphia workplace, then you should immediately contact one of the employment discrimination attorneys at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation.
