2 former employees file discrimination suit against Lions

DETROIT (AP) Two former Detroit Lions employees have filed suit against the team, claiming they were fired because of racial and age discrimination.

The Detroit Free Press reports Tuesday that the former employees say they experienced disparaging comments because of their race. Robert Yanagi and Michael Richardson filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court last month, seeking damages of over $25,000.

Yanagi, 58, is of Japanese descent. He was the team’s director of video operations. Richardson, a 52-year-old African-American, was an assistant video director.

The Lions said because the report involved ongoing litigation, it would be inappropriate for them to comment. The suit also names the NFL as a defendant.

According to the suit, Richardson complained to the Lions’ human resources department last December about being subjected to racist comments by an employee in the team’s scouting department, as well as ”disparate treatment” by an employee of the operations department.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com