Ex-Mets employee files discrimination lawsuit against Jeff Wilpon, team
A former New York Mets official has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the team's front office and co-owner Jeff Wilpon, accusing the team of firing her because Wilpon opposed her having a baby without being married.
Leigh Castergine, who was promoted to senior vice president for ticket sales and service with the Mets the same month she became pregnant, filed the suit on Wednesday. (Read the full lawsuit here.)
The lawsuit alleges that Wilpon told one of Castergine's colleagues that he is "old fashioned and thinks [Castergine] should be married before having a baby," told Castergine to tell her boyfriend that she will get a raise and bonus when she "gets a ring" and said during a meeting with Castergine and six male senior executives "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."
She also alleges that Wilpon told her that she would be respected more if she were married.
Castergine alleges that she reported Wilpon's behavior and that no action nor investigation was taken, and that the team's executive director of human resources advised her to quit.
The lawsuit alleges Wilpon fired Castergine on Aug. 20, with the stated reason being that Castergine failed to reach her sales goals. He allegedly told her that "something has changed" and that she was no longer "as aggressive as she once had been."
According to the lawsuit, Castergine was the first woman to hold a senior vice president position within the organization in the Mets' 52-year history.
- Molly Geary
