Former Chivas USA Coaches Sue Team for Racial Discrimination

Former Chivas USA youth team coaches Daniel Calichman and Theothoros Chronopoulos have sued the club for discrimination after being fired as the team sought a return to its "Mexican roots," reports Matt Reynolds of the Courthouse News Service.

The report states the coaches claim they were harassed, suspended and then fired in March after raising discrimination concerns with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. In response, they have filed a legal complaint against Chivas USA and its affiliates.

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"Specifically, the defendants, at the behest of Chivas USA's new sole owner, Jorge Vergara, sought to import and implement similar discriminatory employment practices to those practiced by Chivas de Guadalajara - a professional Mexican soccer team that systematically refuses to field any non-Mexican individuals. Rather than base their employment decisions solely on considerations of merit or skills as do all other MLS franchises - Chivas USA management unlawfully makes personnel decisions on the basis of ethnicity and national origin," the complaint states.

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Calichman and Chronopoulos worked with the Chivas USA Youth Academy for more than a year before there was a noticeable shift in the club's philosophy, according to the report. They claim there was a concerted effort to create a Mexican-American roster and coaching staff.

The complaint cites an early March article by Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times, which explores the changes under owner Jorge Vergara. In it, manager Jose Luis Sanchez Sola denies the club's decisions were based on ethnicity.

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New Chivas Manager Jose Luis Sanchez Sola says the moves were made for soccer reasons and not based on ethnicity. But just one of the 14 players cut loose has Mexican nationality while 10 of the additions are either Mexican-born or have Mexican parents, making them eligible to compete for both Chivas USA and Chivas de Guadalajara, which has never used a non-Mexican player in its 107 years.

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The coaches state in the complaint that Chivas USA did little to investigate their claims of discrimination and now seek damages for a wide range of charges. They include, but are not limited to, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful firing.

Chronopoulos points to a meeting with Vergara as an example of the discriminatory practices. Part of the complaint, as passed along in the Courthouse News Service report, focuses on the owner's humiliation of those who didn't speak Spanish.

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"On or about November 13, 2012, Mr. Vergara - now the sole owner and highest ranking senior executive at Chivas USA - called a mandatory meeting of all employees, including plaintiff Mr. Chronopoulos. At the meeting, Mr. Vergara intentionally humiliated all employees who were neither Mexican nor Latino. Mr. Vergara brazenly announced that all non-Spanish speaking employees would be fired. He asked, publicly, for those employees who were able to speak Spanish to raise their hands (he initially asked the question in Spanish and then repeated it in English). He then asked employees who spoke English to raise their hands. After publicly identifying those employees who did not speak Spanish, he announced that those employees who did not speak Spanish would no longer be able to work at Chivas USA," the complaint states.

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Calichman and Chronopoulos both played in Major League Soccer for various clubs over the past two decades before moving into coaching roles.

The complaint was lodged in Superior Court. Along with Chivas USA, Chivas USA Enterprises, Chivas USA Futbol Education, Insperity and Insperity Business Services are also defendants against the charges, according to the report.

Chivas USA didn't provide immediate comment in response to the complaint.