Detroit — A former Detroit Tigers vice president is suing the team and its parent company, Olympia Entertainment, alleging race, gender, and age discrimination in her 2020 termination.
Elaine Hendrix worked for the Tigers for over 21 years, beginning in 1999 as one of the team’s point persons during the transition from Tiger Stadium to Comerica Park. She served as the team’s vice president of public affairs and strategic development, and her efforts were lauded with the success of the winter caravan and community involvement.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Detroit, she was fired on September 20, 2020, after receiving her first unfavorable job-performance review since joining the Tigers.
According to the lawsuit, Hendrix was offered one week of severance money for each year she spent with the Tigers, for a total of 21 weeks. The lawsuit claims that it “paled in comparison to those offered to similarly situated white men.” The lawsuit also claims she was asked to sign documents stating she would not sue the Tigers.
The Tigers and Olympia Entertainment did not immediately respond to a message from The News requesting comment. Hendrix’s lawyer, Jehan Crump-Gibson of Southfield-based Great Lakes Legal Group, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
According to the lawsuit, Olympia appointed a new chief marketing officer and senior vice president of sports and entertainment on July 19. Hendrix was supposed to report to them. According to the lawsuit, Hendrix received her first unsatisfactory job-performance review in the spring of 2020 for work completed in 2019. According to the lawsuit, Hendrix’s new manager took away her work tasks in 2019.
According to the lawsuit, Hendrix was informed by the corporation in September 2020 that it was cutting its employment due to the epidemic. According to the lawsuit, Hendrix was the company’s sole vice president who was dismissed go.
Hendrix, a Detroit native, is Black and was 64 when she was sacked. She seeks unspecified monetary damages, compensatory, exemplary, and punitive, as well as attorney expenses.
During her tenure with the Tigers, Hendrix handled the Tigers’ memorabilia and ticket-donation programs, which benefit senior citizens, youngsters, people of color, and non-profits. According to her attorney’s lawsuit, throughout her time, the Tigers “became a bastion of community outreach and engagement.”
A former employee has launched at least two lawsuits against the Tigers in the last year. In November, John Nelson, the Tigers’ former visiting clubhouse manager, sued the franchise, claiming racial and age discrimination.
