Rich Cimini
The New York Jets filed a countersuit Tuesday, alleging a former vice president participated in an “unlawful conspiracy” to falsely accuse team president Hymie Elhai of sexual harassment “for the sole purpose of destroying his impeccable reputation and career.”
Elaine Chen, the former vice president of finance, claims in a lawsuit filed last Thursday that she and her husband, Larry Fitzpatrick, the team’s former vice president of ticket sales, were fired in retaliation for the complaints against Elhai.
The Jets responded with a 67-page complaint, obtained by ESPN, that claims Chen knowingly participated in submitting a fabricated email intended to harm Elhai and the Jets.
The email was created by an unidentified former employee who, when confronted by the team, admitted that his allegations of harassment against Elhai had no factual basis and that he had worked in concert with Fitzpatrick to send the anonymous email, the Jets said.
The Jets have initiated arbitration proceedings against Chen and Fitzpatrick, asserting claims of defamation, tortious interference and civil conspiracy, among other claims.
The Jets’ lawsuit contains dozens of texts and screenshots from Fitzpatrick’s team-owned phone that were collected during his firing. A forensic examination of the phone shows Fitzpatrick lied about his role in sending the anonymous email and deleted 4,000 text messages in an attempt to hinder the investigation, according to the complaint.
When questioned by the Jets, Fitzpatrick, in the presence of an attorney, took out his phone and began “furiously tapping” the top of it, appearing to delete texts, according to the suit. He told investigators during the meeting that he was texting his wife about another topic.
After Fitzpatrick handed over his phone, the Jets’ forensic examination revealed that the phone’s “recently deleted” folder included approximately 4,000 deleted texts with current and former Jets employees. The lawsuit includes a screenshot of the “recently deleted” folder.
An alleged text message exchange took place on July 10. This was the person who sent the anonymous email about Elhai to Fitzpatrick.
“You and Elaine don’t have to tell anyone and I don’t want to tell anyone that I sent this. He can sue me for defamation and even if he’s 100% wrong, you don’t need to worry. I created an anonymous account and a VPN so they can’t track my IP address.”
Fitzpatrick reportedly replied, “That will do. I’ll get you the information you need in a moment.”
The next day, Fitzpatrick texted Chen to say he was sending her the email, according to the suit. Their alleged exchange went in part as follows:
Chen: “Okay, be careful.”
Fitzpatrick: “Of course. Have you read it?”
Chen: “Pretty great. »
Fitzpatrick’s phone also included text messages to other Jets employees objectifying women and making sexually explicit comments, visiting adult websites on his company phone and interactions with women on similar sites that included sending him a photo of his genitals, according to the suit. The Jets also claim he violated NFL gaming policy by participating in Super Bowl square pools.
Chen’s lawyer did not immediately return our call for comment.
Chen was hired in 2010 by the Jets as their chief financial officer. She was named vice president in 2021. Elhai has been with the organization since 2000 and became team president in 2019.
In his lawsuit, Chen said an anonymous email was sent to several team employees accusing Elhai of sending inappropriate text messages to female employees and other incidents of misconduct.
Chen said in his lawsuit that the Jets, during their internal investigation, targeted individuals in the organization who “supported the allegations against Elhai and/or the belief that Mr. Elhai’s sexual conduct warranted meaningful investigation and/or disciplinary action.”
She said Fitzpatrick was given a copy of the email, was “questioned” about it by the Jets and was quickly fired after confirming the allegations against Elhai. She said she was fired in a domestic discrimination case. The Jets said she was fired for misconduct, including being dishonest to investigators and participating in what they described as a plot against Elhai.
The Jets are asking him to pay damages and the team’s legal fees.
