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 “solely for the 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 as retaliation after the claims were made against Elhai.
The Jets responded with a 67-page suit, obtained by ESPN, that claims Chen knowingly participated in the submission of a fabricated email aimed at damaging 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 started an arbitration proceeding against Chen and Fitzpatrick, asserting claims for defamation, tortious interference and civil conspiracy, among other claims.
The Jets’ lawsuit contains dozens of texts and screenshots from Fitzpatrick’s team-owned phone, which was collected upon his dismissal. A forensic review of the phone shows that Fitzpatrick lied about his role in the sending of the anonymous email and that he deleted 4,000 texts in an attempt to obstruct the investigation, according to the suit.
When questioned by the Jets, Fitzpatrick, with an attorney present, took out his phone and started “furiously tapping” the top of it, appearing to be deleting texts, per the suit. He told investigators in the meeting that he was texting his wife on another matter.
After Fitzpatrick handed over his phone, the Jets’ forensic review revealed that the “recently deleted” folder in the phone included approximately 4,000 deleted texts with current and former Jets employees. The lawsuit includes a screenshot of the “recently deleted” folder.
One alleged text exchange occurred July 10. It was to Fitzpatrick from the person who sent the anonymous email about Elhai.
“You and Elaine have to not tell anyone and I mean anyone that I sent this. He can sue me for slander and even tho he’d be 100% wrong, don’t need the headache. I set up a burner anonymous account and a vpn so they can’t track my IP address.”
Fitzpatrick allegedly responded, “Will do. Will get you the info you need in a little bit.”
The next day, Fitzpatrick texted Chen to tell her he was sending the email to her, the suit says. Their alleged exchange, in part, went like this:
Chen: “Okay be careful.”
Fitzpatrick: “For sure. You read it?”
Chen: “Pretty brilliant.”
Fitzpatrick’s phone also included text messages to other Jets employees objectifying women and making sexually explicit comments, visiting adult-oriented websites on his company phone, and interactions with women on similar sites that consisted of him sending a photo of his genitals, the suit alleges. The Jets also claim he violated the NFL’s gambling policy by participating in Super Bowl squares pools.
Chen’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
Chen was hired in 2010 by the Jets as a finance director. She was named a vice president in 2021. Elhai has been with the organization since 2000 and became the team’s president in 2019.
In her 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 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.”
She 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. She said she was terminated in a case of marital discrimination. The Jets said she was fired for misconduct, including his dishonesty with investigators and her participation in what they portray as a conspiracy against Elhai.
The Jets are requesting that she pay damages and the cost of the team’s legal expenses.
