Fox Sports has been sued by a former executive who alleges he was denied a promotion and later fired because he is black.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Jerry Davis claims he is a 52 year old black man who worked at Fox Sports for more than 15 years as a director in the music department. When the position directly senior to him became available four separate times, he was passed over “because, as a black man, he did not fit neatly into the company’s corporate culture,” the lawsuit states.
Indeed, Davis says he did not receive a single promotion during his years at the company. In February, Fox is alleged to have eliminated his position when he was on disability leave “without providing any interactive process or attempts at accommodation.”
“In the division that runs broadcast / ‘over the air’ sports programming for Fox, there are currently approximately 34 individuals employed at or above the vice president level. None are black,” the lawsuit reads. “Indeed, to the best of Mr. Davis’ knowledge, no black person has ever held any position at or above vice president in that division’s 19 year existence.”
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Fox declined to comment on the suit, which names as defendants the News Corp. divisions Fox Cable Network Services, Fox Sports Net, Fox Sports and Fox Networks Group.
The lawsuit, filed by the Rushovitch Mehtani and Shegerian & Associates firms, alleges causes of action for unlawful discrimination based on race and disability, as well as retaliation and a failure to accommodate disability, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com
Twitter: @THRMattBelloni
