On a day in which the Rockets were visiting the Nets in Brooklyn, news also emerged that the team had been named in a lawsuit that alleges that a number of players on the Rockets taunted a Barclays Center server with homophobic slurs. The lawsuit alleges that while Rasean Tate, then a server for a catering company at the Barclays Center, was setting up a pregame buffet, he was subjected to comments like "get this fa--ot out of here!" and "He's trying to catch a sneaky-peeky."
Those comments were allegedly repeated a number of times, before which Tate left the area on a Nets officials advice. The suit later alleges that his subsequent demotion and firing was caused by his complaints to the catering company, and that his sexual orientation was a cause for these punishments.
No Rockets have been named in the suit and the team has not made an official response in public, so all we have to go on is Tate's word at this point and a group of witnesses who have yet to testify. If these allegations prove to be true, it will shine a very poor light on the Rockets' organization and will lead to a good deal of public criticism of the team.
I think we all can agree that if these allegations are true then those involved deserve punishment and look very poorly in that situation, but it is also to be careful to pass judgement before more details are available. We will have more on the story as it develops.
Houston Rockets taunted server with anti-gay slurs: suit | New York Post
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