NFL Hall Of Famer Jerome Bettis Files Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

On Thursday, former Pittsburgh Steelers star Jerome Bettis announced he had filed  a racial discrimination lawsuit over a business deal that energy drink EQT backed out of with Bettis and his brother John’s trucking company, Integrserv. “We brought the lawsuit to fight for what is right,” Bettis told USA TODAY Sports. “I have to stand up and say something when I see what I believe to be racial injustice. I am calling it out because it’s wrong and the time is now to do something about it.”

The suit claims that EQT used a racial double standard as a justification to back out of the deal, a notion which the company pushed back on hard. “Integrserv’s lawsuit is entirely without merit and contains a number of false statements,” a spokesperson for EQT said in a statement. “The fact is that EQT is demonstrably committed to service provider diversity. In 2020, approximately 12% of our entire supplier spend to date – totaling approximately $40 million – has gone to over a hundred minority-owned businesses. Integrserv’s contract was terminated, along with a number of other contracts from non-minority owned businesses, as part of a program to drive efficiencies and accountability across EQT’s business. In addition, Integrserv mismanaged its fulfillment of the contract, which led to numerous safety failures. We are disappointed that Integrserv has chosen to respond by making serious, unsubstantiated allegations against EQT management and we will vigorously defend ourselves against this unwarranted lawsuit.”