(670 The Score) Former White Sox athletic trainer Brian Ball has filed a lawsuit against the organization in which he alleges he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation, age and disability, according to multiple reports.
Ball, who’s gay, worked for the White Sox for two decades before being let go in October 2020. He was a longtime assistant athletic trainer before being promoted to head trainer in 2018. White Sox management was aware Ball was gay at the time he was promoted, according to reports.
In July 2020, Ball was carjacked outside his apartment, according to the Athletic, which obtained the lawsuit. Ball was then placed on medical leave and told his job would be waiting for him when he was ready to return.
But when Ball attempted to return a month later, the team didn’t allow him to do so, the Athletic reported.
Additionally, general manager Rick Hahn suggested to colleagues that Ball “had either a gambling, alcohol or drug addiction that was related to the July carjacking,” the Athletic reported, citing the lawsuit. That wasn’t true about Ball, the lawsuit said.
A couple months after Ball was dismissed in 2020, an unnamed member of White Sox management informed Ball he was let go because he was gay, the Sun-Times reported, citing the lawsuit.
The White Sox have denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
"It is extremely disappointing that a former colleague, who was supported, developed and promoted over two decades, chose to attack the club in this way," the team told the Athletic in a statement. "It is also surprising to many who know Brian, and supported him throughout his career, to read the allegations included in his lawsuit."
Ball was dismissed because of his job performance, the White Sox also said.