MLB BIG TAKES A BIAS HIT
Exec: Robinson & league unfair to Hispanics, women
ONE OF Major League Base- ball’s highest-ranking female ex- ecs took a big swing at Frank Rob- inson Thursday, calling the leg- endary outfielder a sexist slugger.
The Hall of Famer, Commis- sioner Bud Selig and other high- er-ups at MLB’s headquarters run n a boys club that passes over quali- fied women in favor of underqual- ified men, according to a hard-hit- ting lawsuit filed in Manhattan n Federal Court by Sylvia Lind, the e league’s director of baseball initia- tives.
The 48-year-old hired by thee league in 1995 says Robinson – who as executive vice president of baseball development is her boss — subjected her to unfair performance reviews and ignored her for promotions despite her success and qualifications.
“Sometimes you have to hire a man because there are places women can’t go,” Robinson told Lind during a performance review, according to the suit.
“Well, I guess they can go most places now, but sometimes it’s easier to hire a man because of what it is they’ll be dealing with.”
Lind, who is pro baseball’s highest-ranking Hispanic woman, says her frustration is indicative of a larger problem at the organization’s Park Ave. office: Of 52 MLB vice presidents, only four have ever been His- panic and only 12 are women, according to the court documents.
“In an industry where nearly 40% of the players are foreignborn (most of whom are from the Caribbean and Latin American), not one Hispanic female was hired or appointed to an executive position,” documents read.
Lind says that her main achievements are spearheading the All-Star Futures Game and Civil Rights Game.
The trouble began in 2012 when her boss, Jimmie Lee Solomon, was fired and replaced by Robinson, she claims.
Lind says she was never considered for the gig, which pays Robinson — the first African-American manager in baseball — more than $1 million annually.
The two clashed, and Robinson stripped her of her responsibilities coordinating the Futures Game, an exhibition game showcasing baseball’s best young prospects, she charges.
He also gave her negative performance reviews, telling her that people “don’t like you” and that he was worried about her drinking, she said in the suit.
Around May, she was ordered to take the first urine test for drugs and alcohol in her baseball career — a move she believes was or- dered by Robinson as a way to orchestrate her termination.
Court documents do not reveal the results of the test, but indicate she still works for the league.
Lind seeks damages to be determined at trial for gender and age discrimination.
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said the suit “is absolutely without merit.”
Robinson’s storied career includes 14 All-Star appearances and two World Series victories. He was the first player to win the MVP in both the National and American Leagues.
In 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.