The Santa Anita racetrack is being sued by its longtime spokesperson, Mike Willman. He says he was fired because he refused to lie to protect the company.
The lawsuit claims the park used a weak excuse to justify firing Willman last March.
"They fired the guy for using the word bitch," Willman's attorney, Charles T. Mathews, told KNX News' Karen Adams. "It wasn't like he really was calling her [one]."
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Matthews says he was let go from his job of 19 years because he refused to shift responsibility for the 2019 spike in horse deaths at the track away from the park and onto the trainers.
"The gist of it is retaliation because they had a guy who tells the truth," Mathews said. "It's our view that getting rid of Mr. Willman and trashing him is a way to prevent him from being seen as a credible witness if he was called to give sworn testimony."
According to Mathews, the incident began with a lighthearted exchange between Willman and his younger female assistant.
Mathews stated that the assistant, who he described as being "buddy-buddy" with the organization's president, made a "wisecrack" or comment to Willman, who responded in kind, saying, "Oh, you bitch, how can you do that to me."
It was a joke, according to the lawyer. However, the situation quickly escalated.
The assistant reportedly then went directly to the president and claimed she had been sexually harassed.
Mathews believes it's "complete bulls*it" or "horsesh*t since we're dealing with the racetrack."
The suit asserts Willman has been unable to get unemployment or another job in the racing industry due to the nature of his firing.
Wilman said he wants the suit to go before a jury so he can expose all of Santa Anita's dirty laundry.
Santa Anita released a statement regarding the situation:
“The lawsuit filed by Mr. Willman is baseless and filled with false and misleading claims. Mr. Willman’s employment with Santa Anita Park terminated in 2024, five years after the events he references in 2019, for reasons having nothing to do with racetrack safety. Santa Anita Park will vigorously defend itself against these meritless allegations and looks forward to setting the record straight in court, where the truth will prevail.
Santa Anita Park has been and continues to be the industry leader in horse care and safety reforms. As was widely reported in the media, last year Santa Anita Park concluded the Winter-Spring meet with a near-perfect safety record of 99.7%, making it one of the safest racing venues in North America.”
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