MLB Umpire Says Sex Harassment Ignored Because of Diversity Push

MLB was sued Wednesday by a former minor league umpire who says he was fired because he complained about a female umpire’s harassment based on his gender and sexual orientation.

The league failed to adequately investigate his complaint, including not reviewing video evidence he and other male umpires had compiled, and instead fired him without explanation, the worker says in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan. His harasser had taunted him and others by boasting that she could do whatever she liked without risking her job because the MLB is actively seeking to advance female umpires under a diversity initiative aimed at fixing its long standing shortage of minority umpires, the suit says.

That diversity push has resulted in “an illegal diversity quota” that saw him and other new male umpires initially relegated to the “taxi squad” in favor of less qualified women and minorities, Brandon Cooper alleges. They therefore weren’t initially as full-time employees as they began their efforts to prove themselves and advance to the major leagues, Cooper says.

The harassment occurred at the MLB’s Arizona Complex League, after Cooper was promoted in March 2023 to full-time status as a minor league umpire based on his sterling performance, the suit says. His harasser was transferred to Arizona that June and immediately began her homophobic and other sexual taunts, the suit says.

Her sexist comments included stating that she could have sex with any of the male umpires without consequence under the league’s anti-fraternization policy, that “I’m a woman, I can get away with anything,” and “I’m a female and they will believe me over a male,” Cooper says. Her homophobic slurs started when she saw him and another male umpire sitting on a hotel bed watching Netflix, he says.

The female umpire later became concerned when Cooper and other male umpires caught her making out with a male umpire, according to the suit. She threatened to slit their throats and got physical with Cooper, and the male umpires decided to file a complaint about her after the male umpire she was making out with “made several suicidal statements” out of concern that he would lose his job, the suit says.

Instead of cracking down on his female harasser, the MLB told Cooper he would need to undergo sensitivity training and he was threatened with a three-game unpaid suspension if he pushed to learn why he was being punished, the lawsuit alleges. Cooper soon received an email from the MLB stating that his harasser had accused him if violating its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, according to the suit.

He reported her harassment during an interview with human resources, disclosing that “there were multiple videos taken by” other umpires of her harassment, Cooper says. Rather than collecting those videos, HR told him to hang on to them and he was later fired “in a final act of discrimination and retaliation” in a phone call that “lasted less than a minute,” he says.

The MLB’s diversity push was prompted by its recognized “diversity issue,” which saw the league with just 7% minority umpires in 2013, the suit says. Gender diversity in the major leagues “is even worse,” as no woman has yet to be assigned to umpire a regular-season game, according to the suit.

The suit includes claims under the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law, and it seeks to have Cooper reinstated in his job. It also seeks back pay and other compensatory damages, including for Cooper’s emotional distress, as well as punitive damages and legal fees and costs. PDL Blue Inc. is also named as a defendant.

MLB didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Joseph & Norinsberg LLC represents Cooper.

The case is Cooper v. Office of Comm’r of Baseball, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:24-cv-03118, complaint filed 4/24/24.