ESPN building in Bristol, ESPN building in Bristol, Photo: Google

ESPN has reached a confidential settlement with former fired associate producer Rachel Pineda—who leveled claims of sex and race discrimination against the network—according to Pineda's counsel.

Michelle Holmes, Pineda's attorney and a Waterbury-based solo practitioner, told the Connecticut Law Tribune Tuesday that the Terryville resident and the Bristol-based network "reached a confidential settlement," adding that a settlement "is always good for both sides."

The settlement with Pineda, who was fired in April 2016, came on the same day, Dec. 12, that ESPN reached an agreement with former on-air talent Adrienne Lawrence in an unrelated sex discrimination lawsuit.

Mike Soltys, ESPN's vice president for corporation communications, told the Connecticut Law Tribune the timing was not significant.

"It was a coincidence. Timing is driven by when separate attorneys filed the right paperwork," Soltys said in an emailed statement. "Rachel Pineda and ESPN have reached an agreement."

In February 2018, Pineda sued the network and its corporate parents Hearst Communications Inc. and the Walt Disney Company for, among other things, sex discrimination, race discrimination and alleged violation of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

ESPN fired Pineda in April 2016 for not successfully completing a company performance improvement plan, Pineda, who claimed wrongful termination, was seeking $2.5 million in damages, $100,000 in lost wages and $200,000 to fund a college scholarship for her son for "his pain and suffering and to compensate his father for my loss of income."

In October 2018, U.S. District Judge Michael Shea dismissed all of the counts Pineda had filed with the exception of the race discrimination portion of the suit. And, last month, Shea sided with ESPN in her race discrimination claim. But, the case did not close last month as Shea said he wanted Pineda to file an amended complaint that gave "more facts about the content" of allegedly discriminatory remarks from department manager Valerie Gordon. Shea was going to make a final decision after the amended complaint, but both sides agreed on a settlement before that amended complaint was ever filed.

Specifically, Pineda said that Gordon remarked that she should "go to Deportes," which is the company's Spanish network with her ideas for coverage. The lawsuit states that Pineda, who is of Hispanic ethnicity, took that comment as discriminatory.

Pineda also claimed to have had negative encounters, which she attributed in the lawsuit to her race, with co-workers. In one such incident, she claimed she was asked if she worked in the cafeteria and she further claimed that a supervisor "mocked racial categories that are used to describe ethnic minorities in the United States, including a comment in which he identified himself as a "generic white male producer."

Representing ESPN are attorneys Raymond Bertrand and James De Haan, both with the San Diego, California offices of Paul Hastings. De Haan declined to comment Tuesday while Bertrand did not respond to a request for comment.

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