A stadium announcer who used to work home games for the San Francisco 49ers is suing the team for age discrimination.
Bob Sarlatte, who worked as the Niners’ PA man from 1984 through 2014, alleges that the organization fired him because of his age. According to TMZ, Sarlatte claims he was terminated not long after 49ers CEO Jed York began a “campaign to terminate the older senior employees within the 49ers organization.” He was 66 at the time he was fired.
More from TMZ:
In his suit, Sarlatte says York had admitted that he wanted to swap out the old fogies with cool young people because “they made a lot of money, they did a lot of cool things before they turned 40 years old, and they don’t want to play golf six days a week.”
He also claims management openly made disparaging remarks about old people in the office in an attempt to drive them out.
Sarlatte also noted that the team fired him over the phone, which probably won’t be relevant in court if the suit gets that far. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Interestingly enough, details of the age discrimination suit emerged less than 24 hours after a 49ers reporter told a story about the time York stuck him with a massive dinner bill over a lost bet. Neither allegation is really a good look for the organization.
