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 According to the lawsuit filed Monday in Superior Court in
Orange County, California, Moon required Wendy Haskell to share
his bed during business trips, wear lingerie and made unwanted
sexual advances while she worked as his executive assistant at
Sports 1 Marketing.
Reuters was not independently able to verify the allegations.
"Warren Moon has yet to be served with the lawsuit filed by
Wendy Haskell, but he is aware of the claims contained in it.
Mr. Moon denies the claims by Ms. Haskell," his attorney, Daniel
Fears, said in a statement received by Reuters Thursday dated
December 6.
"Mr. Moon contends these claims are meritless, and he has every
intention to vigorously defend himself in court."
A representative from Moon's company did not immediately respond
to Reuters when asked to comment on the allegations against the
61-year-old former quarterback.
According to the lawsuit, Haskell was hired by Sports 1
Marketing in early July to be Moon's executive assistant, and
her responsibilities included traveling with him for speaking
engagements, charity events and personal appearances.
The lawsuit claims that Haskell traveled with Moon on an almost
weekly basis during her employment and that he made her stay in
his hotel room and share his bed.
Haskell alleges she was required to keep the bathroom door
unlocked when she showered and that Moon repeatedly entered the
room. She also claims that Moon grabbed her crotch while she was
sleeping and slipped a drug into her drink during a trip to
Mexico in October because he thought she was not "having fun."
The lawsuit also claims Haskell reported Moon's behavior to the
company's chief executive, David Meltzer, in October but they
did not investigate her claims. Haskell also says she was
demoted after making the complaints. She is still employed by
the company.
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Moon, who played professionally in Canada before going on to star in
the NFL, is the co-founder and president of the Irvine,
California-based company, which was also named as a defendant in the
lawsuit.
"Wendy Haskell made the decision to right a giant wrong," her
attorney, Diana Fitzgerald, told Reuters late Wednesday in a
telephone interview from Miami. "She now joins a growing group of
valiant women who have decided essentially enough is enough.
"Right now we are experiencing a very powerful movement in our
country as we are witnessing a first generation of women who are not
going to take it anymore."
The NFL's Seattle Seahawks, where the former quarterback played for
two years, said in an email statement late Wednesday it had accepted
Moon's request for a leave of absence as the club's radio analyst.
After winning five consecutive championships in the Canadian
Football League, Moon moved on to the NFL for a 17-year career that
included stints with the Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seahawks
and Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite spending his first six professional seasons in the CFL, Moon
was third all-time in NFL passing yardage and fourth in touchdown
passes at the time of his retirement in 2001. Five years later he
became the first black quarterback to gain induction into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
and Alden Bentley)
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