Two former Arizona Cardinals employees have taken the team and owner Michael Bidwill to court, with the lawsuit centering on allegations of racial discrimination and improper pay.
The suit was brought by Don Shumpert, who worked as an offensive assistant coach for Arizona from 2020 to 2021, and Kendra Hogue, who served as the assistant to Cardinals COO Jeremy Walls. Walls has held that role since 2023 and still does.
Hogue’s claims are broad and heavy on workplace misconduct. In her filing, she says that as a black woman she was treated differently, worked in an intolerable environment, and was subjected to constructive termination, defamation, harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She says those conditions forced her to resign.
Shumpert’s case is more specific. According to the lawsuit, he came to the Cardinals as a coaching fellow in 2019 before joining the staff, then was eventually elevated to running backs coach while still carrying the duties from his previous job. In his telling, he was doing the work of two positions while being compensated for one.
The suit says Shumpert, who is black, met with the front office to ask for a raise and spoke with GM Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury. He says he was told they were not in a position to address it. He also points to several white coaches on the current staff who received new titles and higher pay, including two coaches he says got title bumps without any change in responsibilities.
Shumpert also described a few other isolated incidents, including some involving Bidwill.
A week after his meeting with Keim and Kingsbury, Shumpert was fired. He alleges the Cardinals made false statements about how his departure happened.
The Cardinals pushed back, saying none of the accusations are true.
The case has already moved before a federal judge, who ruled that the discrimination claims must be handled through a third party instead of in open court. That means a magistrate will decide the matter rather than a courtroom proceeding, which also limits potential financial damages if the team is found liable.
For the Cardinals, that ruling is a win for keeping the matter out of court. It also has a clear basis: both former employees signed agreements when they were hired stating: “that any dispute, controversy, or claim related to their employment be resolved through binding arbitration rather than a lawsuit.”
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