Former Texas Texan, GM, accused of targeting black employees in layoffs



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He confirmed his suspicions that former general manager Brian Gaine allegedly targeted African-American employees for dismissal and replaced them with people of other races, Pope said.

The pope published a lengthy account of his allegations on Thursday after the Houston Chronicle reported that the pope had filed a complaint of discrimination against the franchise with the commission for equal opportunities in the US. employment.

Sheath did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

The Texans said Thursday that Pope's allegation was not a factor in the decision to "take up" Sheath's job on June 7, and declined to comment on the complaint.

"Houston Texans do not tolerate any personal or professional discrimination," spokeswoman Amy Palacic said Thursday.

The Texans made no mention of the Pope's allegations during the sacking of Gaine on June 7th.

"Although the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the interest of our organization, who wishes to build a championship team for the city of Houston," said the franchise at the time .

Allegations of being away at breakfast and at meetings

Pope said that he had started as a full-time security trainee at the Texans in July 2016.

He has helped the Director of Security assume various responsibilities, ranging from implementing security policies and procedures for club events – training camps, practices and travel – to match day operations. according to his release.

At the end of his internship in April 2017, he was offered a full-time security coordinator position and his responsibilities remained the same, he said.

"Everything went as planned" during the 2017 season, said Pope, until General Manager Rick Smith announces that he is absent and that Gaine becomes General Manager in January 2018.

Pope said that he had not been slow in suspecting that something was wrong.

From February to April, six African-American employees were fired, he said. In May, Pope briefly replaced another African-American as Acting Director of Security, until Brent Naccara, a Caucasian man with years of experience, assumed the role of Representative. from the United States Department of the Interior and Secret Service.

The pope said he was excluded from the meetings he should have attended. Naccara "would pass in front of me like he did not know me" with groups of law enforcement officers and contractors, Pope said.

In the meantime, Gaine "would not say much to me or to several other minorities," said Pope. But Gaine had "in-depth conversations" with a white intern, which Pope started contacting for information "because the information would never be passed on from Mr. Naccara," Pope said.

Then, in October, Pope told Naccara and other African-American employees that Gaine did not want them to have breakfast in a cafe after a while "because the perception was that we were only doing spend time".

He thought the mandate was extended to everyone. A few days later, the pope said he saw four white men having breakfast together at the cafe.

"All African-Americans in the building understood that few of us could come together or be seen interacting with each other, even during lunch, as it did not look good for the powers that be." said the pope.

Naccara refused to comment on the allegations.

One December morning, Pope said that Sheath had called him, as well as other people, to his office and had stated that it was "not a good idea" for them to prepare their breakfast at a given time.

"From that moment, I knew we were isolated / targeted," said Pope in his statement. "It's where all the staff ate."

Around the same time, Pope said he had approached Naccara to prepare for the draft and that Naccara had "swept" him.

Pope said that Sheath also excluded project meetings and left him in the dark until the last minute.

Other African-American employees were released before Pope was called into the Gaine office on May 8.

"It started by asking me what my goals were and what I really wanted to do, it's a good time to ask when you turn me, that's what I thought," Pope said.

Gaines told Pope that he needed someone with the experience of law enforcement to help ease his burden. He also said that senior management would not allow it.

On May 10, Pope stated that he had learned that he had been replaced by a white man and that he was unemployed when all the executive positions in the office had been filled, right after the project.

"I think I was discriminated against and fired because of my race and my color."

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