Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is again being sued by a former employee.
This time it’s his former personal assistant, Brittany Neuheisel, who has filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit against Bidwill and the team.
Neuheisel claims she ‘was continuously tormented for failing to disavow members of her own family and for refusing to participate in illegal conduct,’ according to the filing obtained by DailyMail.com.
Bidwill ‘unmercifully harassed Plaintiff in an effort to drive her to leave the Cardinals,’ the filing continued, adding that he once demanded she ship a gun through FedEx, while directing her to ignore any firearm restrictions.
Neuheisel, a grandmother, claims she was told by a colleague that Bidwell wanted to replace her with someone who is ‘young, beautiful, and athletic.’
A Cardinals spokesman denied the allegations in a statement provided to DailyMail.com.
‘Earlier this week, the Cardinals received an email from a California-based plaintiff’s lawyer,’ the statement began. ‘In it, he threatened to file a lawsuit unless the team agreed to his demand for a substantial amount of money by 5:00PM the next day.
‘The team refused and the lawyer has now filed the Complaint.
‘The Cardinals were surprised by and strongly deny the allegations made in this lawsuit and intend to defend the case on its merits in the appropriate forum.
‘As this is now pending litigation, the team will refrain from further comment.’
Neuheisel’s attorney has not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
A year ago, Bidwill was sued by former Cardinals personnel executive Terry McDonough over wrongful discharge claims. McDonough ultimately won $3 million in arbitration after the team admitted a critical press release about the outgoing executive ‘went too far’ in condemning him over allegations of spousal abuse and child neglect.
For six years, Neuheisel worked for Bidwell until her resignation last month.
She says Bidwill constantly put her in the middle of his ‘petty battles’ with family members. In one alleged incident, Neuheisel was told by Bidwill to clean out his niece’s car, which he’d gifted to her, so that it could be repossessed and sold.
Neuheisel says Bidwill told her to record the video of the car being loaded into a flatbed tow truck so that it he could play the clip for his niece.
What’s more, Neuheisel says Bidwill repeatedly told her she was an ‘enabler’ for housing her adult children and grandchildren, whom he said she should kick out of her house, according to the filing.
Neuheisel also claims she was present for a phone call in which Bidwill described one female employee as a ‘hot blonde.’
This woman was given some of Neuheisel’s duties and when the Plaintiff asked another colleague about the decision, she was told of Bidwill’s preference for attractive young women.
‘I know what Michael likes to look at; young, beautiful and athletic looking girls,’ Neuheisel claims she was told.
In 2022, Neuheisel claims, she was attacked by Bidwill’s pit bull, Charley, who is accused of biting other Cardinals employees.
‘Most Cardinals’ employees were scared to go near Charley,’ read the filing.
Bidwell allegedly asked Neuheisel to provide false information on federal and international disclosures related to travel by private airplane.
And when he asked her to ship a firearm to an acquaintance of his, she reminded Bidwell about restrictions, only to be told: ‘That’s not what I asked, just ship it.’
Neuheisel quit in January after the Cardinals agreed to host playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings as Southern California was being decimated by wildfires.
Neuheisel says Bidwill directed a tirade at her when Rams owner Stan Kroenke neglected to personally thank the Cardinals for hosting the game.
A 60-year-old Missouri native, Bidwell inherited the team from his father, Bill, who famously moved the club from St. Louis to Phoenix before the 1988 season.
Michael’s grandfather, Charles, bought the team in 1933 when they still played in Chicago.
Bidwell was a strong supporter of his Georgetown Prep classmate Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the US Supreme Court in 2018.
‘I think now that he’s been selected by the President, he will go through a thorough vetting process and as they go through that process they will learn about the great person we know,’ Bidwell wrote of Kavanaugh in 2018. ‘He is a man of high character, high intelligence, excellence and independence. We want to speak up and show our support as former classmates and long-time friends.’
Although Kavanaugh would ultimately be appointed to the US Supreme Court, his confirmation hearings revealed allegations of sexual assault stemming from his high school days in the 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied the claims.
In addition to his time with the Cardinals front office, Bidwill has worked as a federal prosecutor.
He also serves as a board member for the Pat Tillman Foundation, which honors the former Cardinals safety who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. The group supports education and leadership efforts for veterans and military spouses.
