The Mets and COO Jeff Wilpon in court papers filed Friday "denied all the accusations made in a lawsuit by a former senior ticket-sales executive who said that she had been discriminated against for being pregnant out of wedlock," according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Former Mets Senior VP/Ticket Sales & Service Leigh Castergine said that she "had been fired in retaliation for complaining to the team’s human resources department." The Mets and Wilpon in the U.S. District Court filings said, “The termination of her employment was based on legitimate business reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with her gender, marital status, pregnancy or leave.” They cited “business issues and conflicts in the workplace” between Castergine and her supervisor, Exec VP & Chief Revenue Officer Lou DePaoli and other execs. The Mets and Wilpon "offered few details behind their defense" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/1). The Mets' response reads in part, "Wilpon at all times treated plaintiff fairly and without regard to her gender, marital status, pregnancy or leave. ... DePaoli ultimately terminated plaintiff, despite the long-standing support that plaintiff received from Wilpon" (ESPNNY.com, 10/31).
