Jets sued by former executive over alleged retaliation for misconduct
claims against team president
[October 04, 2025]
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets are accused in a lawsuit by
a former team vice president of firing her as part of the organization's
response to allegations of sexual misconduct made against team President
Hymie Elhai.
The Athletic reported that the lawsuit, which it obtained Friday, was
filed Thursday by Elaine Chen, the Jets' former vice president of
finance, who says she and her husband Larry Fitzpatrick, the team's
former vice president of ticket sales, were fired as retaliation after
the claims were made against Elhai. |
New York Jets president Hymie Elhai looks on as players warm up before
an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Oct. 8, 2023, in
Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) |
|
Elhai has been with the organization since 2000 and became the
team’s president in 2019.
In a statement to the Athletic, the Jets said the accusations
against Elhai were investigated and deemed “baseless.” The team
also said it plans to countersue Chen and Fitzpatrick for
defamation and libel.
In her lawsuit, Chen said an anonymous email was sent to several
team employees accusing Elhai of sending inappropriate text
messages to female employees, as well as other incidents of
misconduct.
Chen said in her lawsuit that the Jets, during their internal
investigation, targeted people in the organization who
“supported the allegations against Elhai and/or the belief that
Mr. Elhai’s sexual conduct warranted an actual investigation
and/or disciplinary action."
Chen said Fitzpatrick received a copy of the email, was
“interrogated” about it by the Jets and was soon fired after
confirming the allegations against Elhai.
According to the Athletic, the Jets said Chen participated in a
“fabricated email” and the text messages and interactions
attributed to Elhai were “grossly over-exaggerated and
positioned for the sole purpose of the fabricated narrative.”
The Jets also said in the statement to the Athletic that the
former employee responsible for the original email acknowledged
during the team's investigation that the allegations against
Elhai were false and they “worked with Fitzpatrick to facilitate
the email.”
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