Squash champ sues country club, claims she was fired for being whistleblower

GREENWICH — A squash coach from Greenwich is suing the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., claiming that she was fired for reporting sexual wrong-doing among members to club management.

Natalie Grainger was once ranked the No. 1 woman’s squash player in the world and spent eight years as president of the Women’s International Squash Players Association. Grainger has also been an instructor at Chelsea Piers in Stamford and has worked to bring the sport to young people in New Haven.

Grainger and her attorneys filed a suit earlier this month in U.S. District Court in New York alleging she was fired after reporting instances of “sexting,” the drugging of a woman on a date, sexually harassing behavior among male club members and an assault. The suit is seeking unspecified damages for breach of contract, gender discrimination and retaliation.

John Mills, an attorney representing the club and its management, did not return a request for comment.

In 2018, she was hired by the Westchester Country Club as its squash director, at a base salary of $145,000 per year. The suit says her work at the club was a “resounding success” before she began bringing reports of misconduct to management.

The lawsuit contends she became aware of harassment among club members.

“She learned that two of her junior reports were involved in sexual relationships with male club members,” a violation of club policy, the suit contends.

The suit describes a text chain among club members: “In or about October 2021, Grainger became especially concerned about sexual harassment at the Club when she discovered a

Grainger trail of text messages among male Club members discussing a ‘lineup’ of women they had apparently picked out for the evening’s ‘fun.’ The text exchange, which was sent to (an employee) by (a member), included pictures of three provocatively dressed women who appeared to be sex workers.”

In another instance, the complaint states, “In or about August 2020, (an employee’s) sister called Grainger in a panic after midnight, stating that she believed she had been drugged while out with Member 1,” the same man involved in the group text. The suit claims a sexual assault on another club employee also took place at the residence of that club member.

“In particular, over time, Grainger came to believe that the Club created, fostered and enabled a sexually hostile work environment for women,” the legal complaint states.

Grainger outlined her reports of sexual harassment to the head of the racquets committee and the board chairman at the club in March 2022.

The suit says she was told to resign by board president Mark Christiana and former manager Tom Nevin. She was later threatened with dismissal unless she resigned, according to the suit, and “the reasons given for her dismissal were obviously false.” Christiana and Nevin, who now resides in South Carolina, are named as defendants in the suit.

Refusing to resign, the complaint states, she was fired from the squash position in March 2022, and no investigation was ever held about her reports of harassment.

Kassandra Vazquez, a lawyer representing Grainger, did not respond to a request for comment.

The club was founded in 1922, and it has a high-end membership who pay an initial fee of $170,000 for entrance. The club says it is one of the top such facilities in the country.