Texans deny discrimination allegations of ex-security official or any link to Brian Gaine firing

A helmet decal honoring Houston Texans founder Robert C. McNair is placed on the field before an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, in Houston. A helmet decal honoring Houston Texans founder Robert C. McNair is placed on the field before an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, in Houston. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photographer Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texans deny discrimination allegations of ex-security official or any link to Brian Gaine firing 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Former Texans security coordinator Jeff Pope has filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission against the AFC South franchise.

The Texans have denied his allegation.

Pope was dismissed by the Texans on May 8. He was hired by the Texans in 2017.

"We have just been made aware of Mr. Pope's claim," the Texans said in a statement. "We do not comment on pending litigation. The Houston Texans do not tolerate personal or professional discrimination of any kind."

Pope was fired for job performance issues, including falsifying payroll and overtime records, according to multiple sources not authorized to speak publicly.

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The Texans fired general manager Brian Gaine last Friday and emphasized that Gaine's dismissal is unrelated to Pope's complaint.

"This claim by Mr. Pope was not a factor in the recent decision to relieve Brian Gaine from his job as general manager," Texans spokeswoman Amy Palcic said.

A former Bethune-Cookman football player, Pope was responsible for assisting in club security under director of security Brent Naccara.

"My client was terminated we are alleging it was clearly on the basis of race by Mr. Gaine, who was recently terminated by the Texans," said N. Lucy Chukwurah, Pope's attorney. "My client was offered a severance. He came to me about negotiating and asked if he should sign it. I found there was more there. I wondered why he was being offered a severance. We discussed what his options were and filed the EEOC discrimination complaint. Prior to doing so, we got in contact with the Texans about negotiating and at least giving him a severance package that's fair. They declined to engage in that process.

"I was going to handle this the way I handle most of my claims: quietly. When the Texans terminated Mr. Gaine, that caught my attention. They terminated him a few days after they spoke with their counsel. I found that to be unusual."

A former University of Houston football recruiting intern and a Rice University athletic ticket sales employee, Pope lists himself as a volunteer with the NAACP since March and a volunteer with the Fritz Pollard Alliance since January.

The Fritz Pollard Alliance promotes diversity in NFL hiring practices.

"It's unfortunate that my client is out of a job that he really wanted to continue," Chukwurah said. "He is currently unemployed."

Fritz Pollard chairman Harry Carson and executive director Rod Graves issued a statement about the allegations Friday.

"The Fritz Pollard Alliance is deeply troubled by allegations of systemic racial discrimination within the Houston Texans organization adversely impacting African American employees," the statement said. "Allegations of this nature, if true, should not be tolerated anywhere in our great country and certainly not within America's game. While only allegations at this point, they are serious. We call on the NFL to carefully monitor this situation and, if the allegations have merit, to take strong appropriate action."