Former MLB All-Star Kenny Lofton is facing some troubling allegations.
According to a lawsuit that was obtained by TMZ, a man who used to work for Lofton claims he was fired as retaliation for reporting the 55-year-old’s alleged sexually inappropriate behavior. In the suit, which was filed on Monday, Brandyn Toney says he was hired in 2021 by an investment firm and NFT marketplace that Lofton founded. Toney claims he was never paid and was fired for reporting that Lofton exposed one of his female employees to sexually explicit photos of himself.
Toney says he was hired to work for Lofton’s companies, Centerblock Asset Management LLC and Proxime Corporation, in December 2021. He was promised a salary of $85,000. On June 8 of this year, Toney says he was approached by a fellow employee who was hired by the company to monitor Lofton’s Instagram account. The woman told Toney that she discovered Lofton had been sending photos of his penis to various women through private messages.
After learning of the alleged behavior, Toney says he approached the company’s in-house attorney to make the attorney aware of Lofton’s actions. Toney claims he was fired less than two hours after that conversation took place.
“Lofton and his executive team thought they could fire our client for objecting to obvious sexual misconduct and even thought they could get away with not paying him for his work,” Toney’s attorney, Ronald L. Zambrano, said in the lawsuit. “That speaks to the arrogance and dysfunction at play every day at Centerblock and Proxime.”
Toney is suing Lofton and the company for damages. He says he was fired as retaliation for calling attention to Lofton’s alleged sexual misconduct and for complaining about not being paid.
Lofton played in the majors for 17 seasons. He spent the bulk of his career with the Cleveland Indians, including his final season in 2007. The former speedster batted .299 for his career and stole 622 bases. His 34 postseason steals are the most in MLB history.
