Wheels on Fired

This is rather unpleasant to hear. Even the former organizers of the AIDS Ride, Pallotta TeamWorks, Inc., wouldn't have been this stupid, would they?

Straight Man Says He Was Fired For Not Being Gay

(CBS) LOS ANGELES The former executive director of a cycling event that raises money for AIDS research sued two predominantly gay groups claiming he was fired because he is straight, according to court papers obtained Friday.

Jeffrey Shapiro filed his lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging sexual orientation discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center
and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

The two organizations co-produce AIDS/LifeCycle, a 545-mile cycling event to fund research in the fight against AIDS.

Shapiro alleges he was fired because he is heterosexual and that officials there wanted someone who "better fit into the culture."

According to the lawsuit, Shapiro was hired in March and received praise for his work, which generated a record $11 million compared to $8 million the previous year.

But he claims LAGLC and SFAF leaders held a meeting with Shapiro in June and fired him, telling him that "everybody liked him as a person, but they needed somebody who better fit into the culture."

He said that when he asked for a clarification, a LAGLC director told him "things like this happen and that they made a mistake to think this could work."

Shapiro said he was given two weeks pay and money for unused vacation.

He is asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and a permanent injunction preventing the two groups from engaging in further such alleged discrimination.

The AIDS Life/Cycle website has a new job opening! Better be gay, apparently. Maybe you ought to add your membership in the Liza Minnelli Fan Club to your resume.