Jets File Counterclaim Over Alleged Conspiracy
The New York Jets have filed a countersuit, alleging an “illegal conspiracy” led by a former vice president to defame their president, Hymie Elhai. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, accuses Elaine Chen, former vice president of finance, of participating in a plot to damage Elhai’s reputation. The Jets’ legal action arises in response to a previous lawsuit by Chen, who alleges she was fired in retaliation for accusations against Elhai. The Jets’ counterclaim, which consists of 67 pages, alleges that Chen knowingly participated in the creation of a fabricated email with the aim of harming Elhai and the organization. The email was allegedly created by an unidentified former employee, who, when confronted by the team, admitted that his accusations of harassment against Elhai were unfounded and that he had acted in collaboration with Larry Fitzpatrick, former vice president of ticket sales and husband of Chen, to send the anonymous email. The Jets have initiated an arbitration proceeding against Chen and Fitzpatrick, filing claims for defamation, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy, among others. The Jets’ lawsuit includes numerous text messages and screenshots from Fitzpatrick’s phone, owned by the team and collected after his dismissal. A forensic review of the phone revealed that Fitzpatrick lied about his involvement in sending the anonymous email and deleted 4,000 text messages in an attempt to obstruct the investigation. According to the lawsuit, when the Jets questioned Fitzpatrick, he took out his phone and began to “frantically tap” the top, apparently deleting messages. He told investigators he was texting his wife about another matter. The Jets’ forensic review revealed that the “recently deleted” folder on the phone included approximately 4,000 deleted text messages with current and former Jets employees. The lawsuit includes a screenshot of the “recently deleted” folder. A text message exchange allegedly occurring on July 10 shows the sender of the anonymous email telling Fitzpatrick:Fitzpatrick reportedly responded:You and Elaine must not tell anyone, and I mean anyone, that I sent this. He can sue me for defamation and even if he’s 100% wrong, I don’t need the headache. I created an anonymous account and a VPN so they can’t trace my IP address.
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The next day, Fitzpatrick texted Chen to let him know he was sending the email. The text exchange between them, in part, went like this: Chen: “Ok, be careful.” Fitzpatrick: “Sure. Did you read it?” Chen: “Pretty brilliant.” Fitzpatrick’s phone also contained text messages to other Jets employees objectifying women and making sexually explicit comments, visits to adult websites on his company phone, and interactions with women on similar sites that consisted of them sending him a photo of their genitals, according to the lawsuit. The Jets also claim he violated the NFL’s gambling policy by participating in Super Bowl pools. Chen was hired in 2010 by the Jets as director of finance. 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 that 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 stated in his lawsuit that the Jets, during their internal investigation, focused on people in the organization who “supported the accusations against Elhai and/or the belief that Mr. Elhai’s sexual conduct warranted a real investigation and/or disciplinary action”. She said Fitzpatrick received a copy of the email, was “questioned” about it by the Jets, and was soon fired after confirming the allegations against Elhai. She said she was fired for marital discrimination. The Jets said she was fired for misconduct, including her lack of honesty with investigators and her participation in what they portray as a conspiracy against Elhai. The Jets are requesting that Chen pay damages and the costs of the team’s legal expenses.I will do it. I will give you the information you need in a while.
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