The Cavs made and endured a lot of changes in the offseason, notably losing LeBron James to the Lakers. One of the team’s smaller moves — the decision to part ways with former assistant coach Jim Boylan — is now the subject of a lawsuit.
Boylan’s contract wasn’t picked up in June, which, in terms of hot NBA assistant bench coach shuffling, wasn’t exactly huge news.
But Boylan, 63, in a lawsuit filed this week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and first reported by 92.3’s Anthony Lima, says the dismissal was pure age discrimination.
Chief and most compelling among the evidence presented in the docket is a transcription of a voicemail former head coach Tyronn Lue left Boylan. (Also, who fires someone via voicemail?) Anyway, here’s the relevant portion:
“Getting younger” is wording we’ve all heard about athletes, but it’s not often a phrase you hear attached to coaches. Here, Lue directly says the team wants to go with someone cheaper, a goal they’ll accomplish by going with someone younger and less experienced. In a subsequent conversation with GM Koby Altman, Boylan claims he was told the decision had nothing to do with his work or performance.
The suit also claims that Dan Gilbert, in his various organizations, has shown a pattern of age discrimination.
The case has been assigned to Judge Nancy Russo. A team spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
You can read the whole suit below.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2018.
Decades ago, I was involved in an age-discrimination complaint against a brokerage firm in another city. The Feds dragged their feet for about 18 months and then dismissed the case for lack of evidence. Basically, it was “he-said, she-said” –and they told me that the only way I could have proved anything would have been to wear a wire (recording equipment) under my suit at the job interview.
The EEOC (Equal Opportunity Employment Commission) is a sad joke…at least, it was then. Don’t know if anything has changed much. They exist to give the fucked-over a place to bitch and to let off steam, and to allow them to vent and to feel better. It has to be a case of really blatant and outrageous bias and discrimination for them to even pursue a case…racial, ethnic, gender-related, sexual preference…age discrimination simply wasn’t enough, I wonder if anything has changed over the years. I doubt it.
in my case. And the hiring manager had also told me he prefered a female, not just someone in their twenties, because “She’ll have a spouse and won’t need as much money.” Had I gotten all that bullshit on tape, I could have nailed them to the cross. But I didn’t wear a wire. Who does? Wish to hell I had. I’d have gotten a nice chunk of change.