Brooklyn Nets Fires Ball Boys For Racial Justice Talk: Lawsuit

BROOKLYN, NY — Two Black men who say they were fired from their job with the Brooklyn Nets last year for speaking out about racial justice have sued the team, according to a new lawsuit.

Edward Bolden Jr. and Juwan Williams — who worked as ball boys and then captains of the Nets' equipment team — were suddenly fired in November 2020 by a boss who publicly disagreed with protests against discrimination and police brutality that were sweeping the nation and the NBA, according to the suit.

The supervisor, Joe Cuomo, had been uncomfortable with staff talking about racial justice issues even before the 2020 protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd erupted, according to the suit. He even prohibited Bolden and Williams from talking about the subject while at work, the suit contends.

"Cuomo instructed Bolden and Williams that they were not to engage in any communications regarding discrimination and social injustices against Blacks in America while at work," the lawsuit reads.

The firings, in separate phone calls on the same day, came as a shock to Bolden and Williams, who were some of the team's longest-serving employees and had been nominated with their equipment staff as the best in the NBA the year before, according to the suit.

But both said it wasn't their first problem with Cuomo. The suit alleges that in years past, Cuomo denied Bolden and Williams full-time opportunities with the team that he extended instead to white staff members, according to the suit.

"Notably, during the relevant time period, all of the management roles with the Nets were occupied by Caucasian men," the suit says.

After they were fired, Bolden and Williams took their concerns to Nets’ General Manager, Sean Marks, who, along with Director of Basketball Operations, Ryan Gisriel, launched an investigation, the lawsuit said.

The higher-ups ultimately upheld the terminations, saying Cuomo said the two were "lazy" and "unable to follow direction," according to the suit.

The complaint was news to the men, the suit said.

"At no time during the entirety of Plaintiffs’ employment were either ever told that he was perceived as 'lazy' or unable to follow directions," they said in the suit.

Bolden said the Nets went as far as to "blacklist" him from the NBA by complaining about him to other teams, according to the suit.

When he went to apply for a job with another team, a manager told Bolden he was concerned with "the way stuff went down on your way out of Brooklyn" and eventually stopped replying, according to the suit.

The Nets denied any wrongdoing in Bolden and Williams' employment.

"Our company takes pride in the fact that our employees reflect the diverse community that we serve, including within the seasonal part-time team attendant positions in which the plaintiffs were previously employed," a spokesperson said.

"All employment decisions are carefully and thoughtfully evaluated and we are entirely comfortable with the employment decision taken with respect to the plaintiffs."