Umpire Sues MLB, Claims He Was Fired For Being Bisexual And Discriminated Against For Being A Man

Brandon Cooper, a now-former minor league umpire, has sued the MLB claiming that he was discriminated against for being both a male and bisexual while also alleging that he was sexually harassed by a female umpire.

Cooper worked in the Arizona Complex League in the minor league system in 2023, which according to claims in his lawsuit, is when he came to the conclusion that Major League Baseball was trying to fix "its gender and racial diversity issue" by implementing "an illegal diversity quota requiring that women be promoted regardless of merit."

"Historically the MLB has had a homogenous roster of umpires working in both the minor and major leagues," the suit claimed, according to the AP. "Specifically, to date there has never been a woman who has worked in a (regular) season game played in the majors, and most umpires are still Caucasian men. To try to fix its gender and racial diversity issue, defendants have implemented an illegal diversity quota requiring that women be promoted regardless of merit."

Cooper said that he was informed by Dusty Dellinger, senior manager of umpire administration, that women and minority candidates had to be hired first after he was put on a taxi squad during spring training in 2023.

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Cooper further alleged that umpire Gina Quartararo, who was in the Arizona Complex League at the time, learned that he was bisexual and used homophobic slurs. The suit claims that MLB told him he had to undergo sensitivity training and later that he was the one actually being accused of violating the minor league anti-discrimination and harassment policy.

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Billy Bean, MLB’s senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, met with Cooper and, according to the lawsuit, told him that Quartaro had made claims that she was being victimized as the only female umpire in the league. 

Cooper said that he told Bean that there was video evidence of Quartaro's alleged misconduct against him, including a physical altercation.

In the lawsuit, Cooper explained that he was skipped over for the playoffs before being fired in October.

Cooper alleges in his lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan circumstances of a hostile work environment and wrongful termination and/or retaliation because of gender and sexual orientation under New York state and city law.