By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rodgers

Former Reds executive Darrell "Doc" Rodgers accused team officials Thursday of demoting him because he is African-American.

Rodgers, a former assistant general manager, claimed in a federal lawsuit that the team discriminated against him and other black employees for years before finally forcing him out in January 2002.

Rodgers is seeking at least $750,000 in damages as well as a court order blocking the team from future discrimination.

He claims his October 2001 demotion, which led to his resignation a few months later, hurt his chances of getting a better job elsewhere. At the time of his demotion to "special assistant," Rodgers had been considered a contender for general manager positions with other ball clubs.

"Doc Rodgers has spent a lifetime building his reputation of fairness, honesty, hard work and, most of all, loyalty to the Cincinnati Reds," his attorney, Ken Lawson, wrote in the lawsuit. "The defendants have turned his American dream into a living nightmare."

The lawsuit names the Reds, general manager Jim Bowden and chief operating officer John Allen as defendants. Team officials issued a statement Thursday denying Rodgers' allegations.

The team also said that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found no basis for the discrimination complaint Rodgers filed after his demotion.

But Lawson noted that the EEOC decision, which was attached to the lawsuit, merely stated that the commission was "unable to conclude" whether discrimination occurred.

"They did not fully investigate the complaint," Lawson said. "The Reds' statement is misleading."