Barclays Center Food Server Sues Houston Rockets for Anti-Gay Discrimination

According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn, a food server alleges that Houston Rockets players verbally abused him prior to a game against the Nets last year. He claims Rockets players mocked him using anti-gay comments in the visitors’ locker room, which eventually led to the loss of his job. Per the NY Post:

Rasean Tate, 28, of Brooklyn, is suing the Rockets and the company that handles catering at Barclays, Levy Restaurant Holdings, for a slew of civil rights violations and anti-gay discrimination.

Tate claims that he was setting up a buffet in the visiting Rockets locker room before a game on Feb. 22, 2013, when he was all but chased from the area because he was gay.

“When the plaintiff’s back was turned to defendant Rockets players, he began to hear laughter and taunting voices saying ‘get this f—– out of here!’ ” according to the suit, and ” ‘He’s trying to catch a sneaky-peeky!’“

“These series of comments were repeated a number of times by defendant Rockets players and staff,” according to the suit. “Plaintiff could hear defendant Rockets players overlapping voices and laughter.”

The suit does not name which individual players allegedly made the remarks.

Tate claims that a Nets representative witnessed the ugly incident and advised him to “just leave” and that he would “take care of it,” according to the suit.

Tate was later told that Nets players were given special sensitivity training because of the incident with the Rockets, the court papers state.

Tate claims he was slowly phased out of all locker room duty by the catering company after he lodged his complaints and his pay and hours plummeted as a result, according to the suit.

Related: Jason Collins Says He Faced Anti-Gay Taunts from an Opponent