Texans say discrimination suit by ex-security official not linked to GM's firing

A former Houston Texans security coordinator has filed a discrimination lawsuit with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission against the team, as reported by Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

The Texans denied Jeff Pope's allegation, and also said the recent firing of general manager Brian Gaine had nothing to do with the suit.

"This claim by Mr. Pope was not a factor in the recent decision to relieve Brian Gaine from his job as general manager," Texans spokesperson Amy Palcic said.

Pope, an employee since 2017, was dismissed by the Texans on May 8. The team also fired Gaines after just one season at the helm last week, despite the former GM having four seasons left on his contract following an 11-5 season.

"My client was terminated; we are alleging it was clearly on the basis of race by Mr. Gaine, who was recently terminated by the Texans," said Pope's attorney, N. Lucy Chukwurah. "My client was offered a severance. He came to me about negotiating and asked if he should sign it.

"I found there was more there. I wondered why he was being offered a severance. We discussed what his options were and filed the EEOC discrimination complaint. Prior to doing so, we got in contact with the Texans about negotiating and at least giving him a severance package that's fair. They declined to engage in that process.

"I was going to handle this the way I handle most of my claims: quietly. When the Texans terminated Mr. Gaine, that caught my attention. They terminated him a few days after they spoke with their counsel. I found that to be unusual."

Meanwhile, Houston's search for a new GM hit a major roadblock Wednesday when the New England Patriots filed tampering charges against the AFC South team for its pursuit of top personnel executive Nick Caserio, one of the favorites to land the job.