Brooklyn Nets Deny Race Was Issue in Firing Locker Room Workers

The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets told a federal court in New York that Black locker room employees’ claims that they were terminated for speaking out about social justice and police brutality are unfounded.

Plaintiffs Edward Bolden Jr. and Juwan Williams, who were co-captains of the equipment team, allege the Nets discriminated against them due to their race, and retaliated against them “for their opposition to discriminatory practices directed toward Black people.”

The complaint alleges that their supervisor, Joe Cuomo, who is White, “prohibited Bolden and Williams from speaking to any Nets players regarding ongoing racial inequities,” and didn’t rehire them after ...