Houston Texans respond to sexual harassment lawsuit
The Houston Texans had a rough run against the NFL this year, going just 4-12 on the field.
Now they’ve got a tough opponent off the field.
A former employee has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Texans, saying the organization “failed to properly investigate and respond to a sexual harassment complaint filed by a former employee in November 2016.”
Kristen Grimes alleges “improper treatment” and “assault” by the team’s former director of football operations, Jason Lowrey, and “negligence” by the team, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Grimes, a former suite sales account executive with the team, is seeking $1 million in damages in the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Harris County, Texas, District Court.
Among other claims, she accuses the Texans of fostering “an Alpha-Male environment, where continuous improprieties toward female employees were not punished,” according to the Chronicle’s copy of the lawsuit.
The Texans responded late Friday.
Statement from the Houston Texans: pic.twitter.com/XwnAgxZMAy
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) February 3, 2018
“We are aware that a lawsuit was filed earlier today against the Houston Texans alleging, among other things, that the Club failed to properly investigate and respond to a sexual harassment complaint filed by a former employee in November 2016,” the team said in a statement. “The Houston Texans take matters of this nature seriously. Consistent with Club policy, this matter was promptly addressed and investigated at the time the complaint was made. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this litigation.”
Or, put another way, if the club is to be believed, the Texans probably found whoever was responsible to be innocent, let the matter drop, and the victim, not happy with the result, sued them.
If her accusations are true, it’s going to be a punch right on the nose of the NFL, a league that has spent the past couple of seasons struggling with national anthem protests, free-falling ratings and an attempted mutiny in the owners’ ranks by Jerry Jones.
If the accusations are false, that’s possibly an even worse outcome, as women, who have built a movement around the strength to come forward in the face of horrifying trauma of sexual abuse and harassment, would find themselves up against a potential “what about her?” when they’re dismissed as trying to get money or attention rather than justice.
We’ll see how the story plays out in Houston, but even if it’s much ado about nothing, let’s try not to let it get in the way of all the gains real victims have made over the past year.
And along the same lines, let’s not rush to judgment on the Texans until all the facts are known.
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