Minor league umpire sues MLB, alleging firing retaliation for sex assault complaint

NEW YORK -- A second minor league umpire joined a lawsuit against Major League Baseball, alleging he was fired after he reported he was sexually assaulted by a female umpire.

Brandon Cooper, an umpire who worked in the minor league Arizona Complex League last year, sued MLB and PDL Blue Inc., an affiliated entity, last April in federal court in Manhattan.

Alexander Lawrie joined the suit Tuesday as an additional plaintiff in an amended complaint.

Lawrie says he was a minor league umpire from 2019 until he was fired this past April 1. He said MLB cited “performance issues.”

Lawrie said in the suit he was sexually assaulted on March 17 by Gina Quartararo, a fellow umpire, following an Umps Care charity event. Lawrie alleges he was terminated in retaliation for reporting the allegation to the Association of Minor League Umpires, the union representing him.

Cooper said in the original suit that Quartararo derided him with homophobic slurs and crude remarks because he is male and bisexual.

The Associated Press does not usually identify people who say they’ve been victims of sexual assault, but Cooper’s publicist consented to his name being used.

MLB and Quartararo declined comment.

In the original suit, Cooper 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. The amended complaint adds an additional claim of violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The suit says the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a right to sue to Cooper on July 11 and Lawrie filed a request for a right to sue on Sept. 26.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb