Eight men who were employed by the Detroit Tigers have been accused of misconduct toward women since 2023.[1] The eight men accused included four vice presidents and two other high-ranking officials.[2] The report by The Athletic involved interviews with 45 current and former employees, emails, HR documents, text messages, and court records.[3]
Seven of the eight men were accused of mistreating women who were employees of Iltich Sports and Entertainment, which manages several organizations, including the MLB franchise.[4] These current and former employees described the culture of the organization as a “boys club” and several women stated that men routinely commented on their appearance.[5]
This report details the resignation of Michael Lienert, a former vice president of the Tigers, who allegedly pushed a female coworker down a flight of stairs in 2023.[6] Lienert joined the organization in 2019. According to three women, Lienert would stare at them in an uncomfortable way.[7]Additionally, Lienert allegedly had relationships with two female coworkers. One of these women was the individual pushed down the stairs in 2023. [8]
Another one of the men accused was Ben Fidelman, who was the vice president of communications and broadcasting for Iltich Sports and Entertainment. [9] Ten individuals witnessed Fidelman either make inappropriate remarks or behave in a way that was “belittling,” “domineering,” and “disrespectful.”[10] A former assistant general manager of the Tigers, Sam Menzin, also resigned in April after sending unsolicited lewd photos to several women who worked for the team.[11]Since 2022, the Tigers have been the subject of at least three employment related lawsuits.[12]
Since these allegations have come to light, Ryan Gustafson, the president and CEO of Iltich Sports and Entertainment, has defended the organization.[13] Gustafson also defended the allegations against Fidelman specifically.[14]
Gustafson has since commended the women who shared their experience and stated he was shocked by the report.[15]These statements were made internally, in emails sent to employees and in a series of calls within the departments of Iltich Sports Entertainment. [16] However, these statements were contradicted by other statements made by Gustafson to local media. [17] In those statements, Gustafson stated that the report was a “gross mischaracterization of the culture here.”[18]
Gustafson is currently considering whether third-party examiners will be brought into the organization.[19] It is not yet clear whether the MLB will intervene.
[1] Brittany Ghiroli and Alex Andrejev, Four VPs, others affiliated with Detroit Tigers accused of misconduct toward women, The Athletic (Sep. 10, 2025)
[2] Id.
[3] Associated Press, Report: Tigers employees accused of misconduct toward women, ESPN (Sep. 10, 2025)
[4] Ghiroli and Andrejev, supra note 1.
[5] Id.
[6] Associated Press, supra note 3.
[7] Ghiroli and Andrejev, supra note 1.
[8] Id.
[9] Brittany Ghiroli, Alex Andrejev, and Cody Stavenhagen, Tigers’ business CEO defends organization after investigation of misconduct toward women, The Athletic (Sep. 10, 2025)
[10] Id.
[11] Associated Press, supra note 3.
[12] Ghiroli and Andrejev, supra note 1.
[13] Ghiroli, Andrejev, and Stavenhagen, supra note 9.
[14] Rachel Hopmeyer, Eight men affiliated with Detroit Tigers accused of misconduct against women, report says, CBS News (Sep. 10, 2025)
[15] Ghiroli, Andrejev, and Stavenhagen, supra note 9.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Hopmeyer, supra note 14.
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