Bills, Sabres employees fired over romantic relationship in workplace

Nov 3, 2019; Orchard Park, NY, USA; General view of the Buffalo Bills logo at New Era Field prior to the game against the Washington Redskins. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Employees of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres organizations, which are both owned by the Pegula family, have been fired over a romantic relationship they had in the workplace.

The Athletic’s Tim Graham reported via X on Wednesday that COO John Roth and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kathryn D’Angelo were both fired. Graham reported that Roth and D’Angelo were in a romantic relationship at work, which caused a problem because D’Angelo reported to Roth.

Three sources close to the situation inform me Roth and D’Angelo were in a romantic relationship. D’Angelo reported to Roth, which created an unethical circumstance. The firings were abrupt.

Notably, the Bills/Sabres are conducting an EXTERNAL search for replacements. https://t.co/ge9YXvpCc9

— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) October 11, 2023

D’Angelo has been with the Bills since April 2016 according to her LinkedIn profile. She ascended from the position of counsel to general counsel in seven years. Her profile says that she added the title of Senior Vice President of Business Administration in July.

Roth was hired by the Sabres and Pegula Sports and Entertainment in January for the roles of executive vice president and chief operating officer. In July, he was given the same roles with the Bills, replacing Ron Raccuia.

An SVP of business administration would likely report to the COO, which would create the workplace relationship conflict.

Roth had joined the Sabres and Bills after spending his previous professional career as a fund manager for Fidelity. Roth got to know Terry Pegula through his role at Fidelity.