Anthony Filomena, a former public relations manager for the Chicago Blackhawks, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was fired because of his sexual orientation. The complaint, filed on August 14 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims the team discriminated and retaliated against him after he raised concerns about bias, and seeks back pay, damages, attorney’s fees, and other relief.
Filomena, who worked for the Blackhawks from July 2022 until his termination on May 3, 2024, says the organization was aware of his sexual orientation when he was hired, according to Chicago FOX affiliate WFLD.
The lawsuit alleges that after the Blackhawks hired Jerry Ferguson as executive vice president of brand and marketing — and Filomena’s direct supervisor — Ferguson treated him differently from other employees and discriminated against him for being gay.
Filomena says he reported Ferguson to human resources for hostile behavior and for involving the department in projects lacking league approval or proper contracts. Afterward, their relationship grew contentious, with Ferguson allegedly yelling at and berating him and accusing him of not doing his job.
Despite tensions with his supervisor, Filomena continued to receive positive performance reviews. On April 4, 2024, he was approached by the LGBTQ sports site Outsports, which wanted to profile him as a gay man working in professional sports.
In the profile, published April 29, 2024, Filomena recounted leaving hockey after hearing homophobic comments in his youth, and how the Blackhawks’ Pride Night drew him back to the sport. After the interview, he asked Outsports to delay publication until he got approval from the team. He said Lyndsey Stroope, the director of marketing and communications, told him he needed approval from “senior leadership” — but she failed to follow up before leaving on vacation.
Filomena says he then raised the opportunity directly with Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Daniel Wirtz, both by text and in person, hoping Wirtz would highlight the team’s LGBTQ outreach in the story. According to the lawsuit, Wirtz approved the profile and said he believed it would benefit the Blackhawks’ reputation in the LGBTQ community.
Outsports reported that Filomena followed up to arrange an interview with Wirtz. But when Stroope returned from vacation and saw the story had already run, she called a May 2 meeting with Filomena, telling him the profile had been flagged and the brand and marketing department was upset.
In response, Filomena said the criticism stemmed from his supervisors’ discomfort with his sexual orientation, noting he had Wirtz’s approval. Vice president and general counsel Marcus LeBeouf allegedly responded that the CEO “can’t be approving these things.”
The next day, the Blackhawks fired Filomena. His lawyer, Josh Friedman, argues the termination was retaliation for both his sexual orientation and his complaints about his supervisor, and that anger over the Outsports article was merely a pretext.
The Blackhawks deny Filomena’s allegations, saying he was fired for “multiple instances of misconduct over a period of six months,” including alleged violations of the team’s attendance policy and insubordination.
The organization also claims Filomena had been warned to follow internal policies, including using proper supervisory channels rather than circumventing them, as he did by directly approaching Wirtz. They further objected to his commenting on initiatives or community partnerships in the Outsports article without prior approval.
Filomena says the team was also angered that the Outsports article mentioned the Blackhawks’ alleged cover-up of then-prospect Kyle Beach’s alleged sexual assault by a former video coach.
“The Chicago Blackhawks would not terminate an employee because of their sexual orientation,” Blackhawks communications manager Ben Fromstein said in an email to Outsports. “In fact, prior to the issues noted below, the organization featured Mr. Filomena and a number of other employees during last year’s Pride Month on our LinkedIn channel. His public accusations are insulting to the organization and the many employees, including several in senior leadership, who identify as LGBTQ+ and contribute to the Blackhawks and our sport every day.”
In his lawsuit, Filomena argues his termination letter falsely claimed he lacked authorization to conduct the Outsports interview. He says the stated reasons for firing him — alleged policy violations and poor performance — “were either fabricated, exaggerated, or not the actual basis for the decision.”
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Nico Young made history on July 31 by winning the 10,000-meter final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, becoming the first out gay man to claim a U.S. track and field title.
The 23-year-old from Camarillo, California, secured his historic win with a time of 29:02.12, edging Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher after closing the final mile in 3:57.05 and his last lap in a blistering 56.54 seconds.
A former standout at Northern Arizona University, Young won both the 5,000- and 3,000-meter races at the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. He also qualified for the Paris Olympics by placing third in the 10,000 meters at last year’s U.S. trials, eventually finishing 12th at the Games with a time of 26:58.11, according to Forbes.
On the evening of July 20, Amylah Majors and Jamaria Gaskins, a married couple from Richmond, were driving to visit Gaskins’ mother in central Virginia when they hit debris on Partlow Road in Spotsylvania County and heard a thumping sound. They pulled to the side of the road to inspect their car. Before they could get out, a man emerged from a nearby home and gave them a "thumbs up" sign.
Believing he was offering help, they were instead met by a torrent of racial and homophobic slurs and threats from him, another man, and a woman. Moments later, the trio allegedly chased the couple while brandishing guns, forcing them into a crash that ejected Majors from the vehicle.
St. Agatha Catholic School, a Portland-based Catholic school serving grades pre-K through 8, is facing backlash from some parents after rescinding an offer of enrollment to the children of a same-sex couple at the direction of the Rev. Father Luan Tran, pastor of the affiliated St. Agatha Catholic Church.
The family -- who requested anonymity out of concern for their safety -- applied to enroll their children last May, even arranging for one child to "shadow" a student for a day. They informed the school of their family situation.
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