This is why the New York Jets are doing the right thing by counter-suing Elaine Chen. She’s the former vice president of finance who had previously filed suit against the team. This growing legal feud is centered around very troubling allegations of misconduct against Chen. He is accused of having led an “unlawful conspiracy” to frame team president Hymie Elhai for sexual harassment, in a bid to destroy his reputation and career.
Elaine Chen, who became the Jets’ director of finance in 2010. By 2021, she had risen through the ranks to become vice chair. Longtime executive Hymie Elhai, who has been with the organization since 2000 and president of the team since 2019. The controversy fanned after an anonymous email circulated among the team. It alleged that Elhai sent sexually explicit text messages to female employees and engaged in various sexual and other forms of harassment.
To support her retaliation claim, the Jets assert that Chen conspired with Larry Fitzpatrick, the former VP of ticket sales for the Jets. Collectively, they drafted an anonymous email. Fitzpatrick acknowledged that he personally received an email that was a copy of the notice. In the process, he shared that the Jets grilled him on it. After the allegations were made public against Elhai, Fitzpatrick was fired after he admitted the allegations were true.
The countersuit alleges that both Chen and Fitzpatrick colluded to injure Elhai’s reputation in the organization. According to the legal papers filed against their actions, this was all part of a coordinated effort to discredit Elhai. They claim that this is enough to make out a conspiracy.
A forensic examination of Fitzpatrick’s phone turned up some deeply disturbing proof. Investigators determined that he had deleted nearly 4,000 text messages over the past few years with current and former Jets employees. In addition, the review found that Fitzpatrick had lied about his role with the creation of the anonymous email.
Fitzpatrick’s deleted messages, according to reports, contained objectifying comments about women and sexually explicit content. He filmed colleagues in compromising situations from his own cellphone. This involved sending a picture of his penis to women on pornographic websites.
Chen and Fitzpatrick were adamant that the Jets retaliated against them. This occurred immediately after they filed complaints against Elhai. Chen’s lawsuit alleges wrongful termination. She asks for damages, arguing that her termination was due to her blowing the whistle on the improper expenditures.
This turns a bad situation into a worse one because of how communication breaks down between Chen and Fitzpatrick. In one message, an unidentified individual warned Chen:
“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.”
This declaration highlights the trouble the parties purportedly went through to hide their deeds. Fitzpatrick communicated his intent to assist in this endeavor, stating:
“Will do. Will get you the info you need in a little bit.”
The Jets’ countersuit seeks to defend Elhai’s reputation and aims to hold Chen accountable for what they describe as a malicious attempt to undermine a respected leader within the organization.
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