Well, this should be fun to watch
/
fore!
Westchester Country Club is a bacchanal of money, squash, and sexual abuse — suit.
One of the nation’s top female squash coaches filed a lawsuit against an exclusive Westchester County country club Thursday, alleging that “prominent” members slept with prostitutes, bedded employees and may have even drugged and raped a female worker.
Squash guru Natalie Grainger claims she was fired from her six-figure job at the Westchester Country Club in Rye after she raised concerns about the bawdy behavior, according to her federal retaliation lawsuit.
Grainger, 45, was hired as the club’s squash director in 2018 and in August of that year learned that an employee who worked under her — one of her “direct reports” — was sleeping with a “prominent” member, the suit states.
Because of the relationship, the employee was “separated” from the club, which boasts two championship golf courses, a beach club on the Long Island Sound and requires a $170,000 initiation fee, according to the suit.
The employee’s performance at work began to deteriorate because of the relationship, and Grainger feared there was a growing problem of sexual harassment at the club.
“In or about October 2021, Grainger became especially concerned about sexual harassment at the Club when she discovered a trail of text messages among male Club members discussing a ‘lineup’ of women they had apparently picked out for the evening’s ‘fun,’” the suit states.
Days after she was fired, Grainger learned from board member’s wife that the employee who was allegedly drugged while out with a member said she was raped by him, according to the suit.
The suit describes Grainger as one of the most decorated squash players in the world, a three-time US Open champion and the only player – man or woman – to rank No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
She coached the US national team for 15 years and also served for 11 years as a board member of Squash Haven, an “enrichment program” that serves at-risk youth.
After she was fired, the club offered her position to a “less-qualified man, who moonlights as a disc jockey,” the suit states.
Grainger is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages for discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation.
Allegations are only that, of course, but these ring true, and if they’re anywhere close to what happened, Westchester Country Club is going to have to calculate the odds of a jury comprised of people who would never be allowed on their grounds will choose to sit with them, or a wronged woman. You never know, of course, because some people are stupid; I once represented an adorable French chef in an age-discrimination suit against one of our more prominent country clubs, and they let it go all the way until opening statements had been made before they asked for a brief recess to “discuss this matter more fully with opposing counsel”. That discussion went very well indeed, but they could have gotten away with paying far less if they had made their overture at the beginning and not waiting until they could see a jury gnashing their teeth and preparing to dine on plaid-panted golfers and their wallets.
