It has been seven weeks since former Senior VP of Ticket Sales for the Mets, Leigh Castergine, accused her former boss of discriminating against her for being pregnant and unmarried. The team’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Wilpon, was accused of numerous disparaging comments. Today, Wilpon and the Mets filed their answers in federal court in response to Castergine’s complaint. You can read Wilpon’s answer here; the answer filed on behalf of the Mets makes the same response. The same law firm is representing both defendants.
Wilpon’s response in short, “[none of it is true].” Above all, Wilpon denied that Castergine was harassed or treated differently because she was pregnant. Specifically, he denies the quotes attributed to him by Castergine: “[I’m] old fashion and thinks [Castergine] should be married before having a baby” and “don’t touch her belly and don’t ask how she’s doing; she’s not sick, she’s pregnant,” or the more odd, “I am as morally opposed to putting an e-cigarette sign in my ballpark as I am to Leigh having this baby without being married.”
Along with denying that he mistrated Castergine, the court filing allowed Wilpon to respond to the allegations that the team suffered at the helm by poor ownership, and that it alienated fans. Not surprisingly, Wilpon denies this as well.
It is somewhat bizarre that Wilpon and the Mets denied everything, given the specific accusations of Castergine. What to expect next? Well, more money from the Mets organization for the legal fees of Wilpon. If the parties don’t settle, discovery will take months if not years.
Recent Comments