Warren Moon is firing back after a former assistant accused the former NFL star of sexual assault and harassment in court papers.
The Hall-of-Fame quarterback, 61, said on Thursday that he did not assault Wendy Haskell or drug her on a trip to Mexico, and claimed that she only filed her lawsuit against him and Sports 1 Marketing after they refused her request for a multi-million dollar payout.
‘We got a demand letter that says they want $3 million and that all these different accusations that she made up, “We’re going public with this if you don’t pay us $3 million,”‘ Moon told USA Today Sports.
‘This was sent on my birthday, so I know this was personal.”
Moon did however confess to sharing a bed with Haskell, 32, on trips, but denied her claim that she was forced to wear lingerie and thongs in bed.
Haskell claims in her suit that she was forced to leave her job after a little under four months because ‘Moon’s outrageous predatory conduct escalated in violent behavior, including surreptitiously drugging her drink and despite her pleas to stop, ripping off her clothes.’
She is now seeking damages for sexual harassment, discrimination, hostile work environment, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in her suit, which was filed in Superior Court of California, County of Orange.
Lawyers for Haskell did not respond to DailyMail.com requests for comment.
Fighting back: Warren Moon (left) is denying the allegations of sexual harassment and assault which were made in a lawsuit filed by Wendy Haskell (right)
Big claim: The Hall of Famer (above in 1992 while playing for the Houston Oilers) claims that he received a demand letter for $3 million from Haskell last month with the threat of a lawsuit if he did not pay up
Haskell states in her court filing that soon after she began the job she was told by her new boss that she would be sharing hotel rooms and beds with Moon on trips.
That then escalate, with Haskell alleging he also made her keep the door unlocked while she showered in case he had to use the facilities, something he would do every time she was bathing according to the suit.
‘On subsequent trips, Moon’s inappropriate behavior escalated whereby he demanded that Ms. Haskell remove her shorts before going to sleep and ordered her instead to wear skimpy thong lingerie bottoms,’ reads the complaint.
‘Moon’s exertion of control over what Ms. Haskell wore did not stop there. He also required Ms. Haskell wear only lingerie any time she was in the room. If she dared resist or failed to follow his command, Moon became aggressive even to the extent of pulling her shorts down. In some instances, Ms. Haskell learned that Moon had photographed her while she was partially unclothed and not looking.’
Haskell also alleges that on ‘at least two separate occasions’ he boos made attempts to pull her shirt off.
‘This started months and months before she ever started working for me. We were both in the same place, relationship-wise, in our lives. We weren’t looking for a committed relationship. We were both hanging out,’ explained Moon to USA Today.
‘I have plenty of female friends that I’ve slept in the same bed with and haven’t done anything with, and it was the same thing with her. It never went beyond that in any way, shape, form or fashion, and she doesn’t even allege that, any sex or anything like that. Sex was never a part of this.’
He then added: ‘It wasn’t something she was ordered to do. But again, there was nothing I was doing that was inappropriate, nothing that she wasn’t comfortable with the whole time she was with me before, or after she was working with me.’
Haskell claims in her lawsuit that around October she began to speak with Sports 1 Management CEO David Meltzer about her growing discomfort with ‘the business trip sleeping and shower arrangements, the unwelcome and offensive touching, and the inappropriate sexual advances.’
He said they would address the issues after she went on a trip with Moon to Mexico, when things began to spiral out of control according to Haskell.
‘Emotionally distraught, on October 16, 2017, when she was first back in the office, Ms. Haskell again asked to speak with Meltzer,’ reads the complaint.
‘Sobbing, Ms. Haskell reported to Meltzer the details of Moon’s inappropriate and abusive behavior during the Cabo trip, including that Moon admitted to drugging her and had pulled her bathing suit off despite her pleading with him to stop.’
Wives: Moon has been married to his second wife Mandy (left) for 12 years and divorced his first wife Felicia (right) in 2002
Haskell said that Meltzer responded by saying he had assumed she ‘could handle Warren better than his other assistants because [she] was older.’
She was then allowed to work for Meltzer as opposed to Moon directly, but Haskell claims that upset her former boss and his retaliation made it impossible for her to continue at the job.
‘If I was such a bad person, making her do all these things, why come work for me? Why am I going to change anything about the way I act because you’re working for me? The only difference is that you’re getting a paycheck, and you’re having to perform for me as an employee. Nothing else has changed. That’s the part I don’t understand,’ said Moon.
‘Looking back in hindsight, Never hire somebody that you have a relationship with,’ is a smart thing not to do. As far as harassment and the other things I’m accused of, there’s no truth to any of it.’
Moon was previously accused of sexual harassment in 1995 by a Minnesota Vikings cheerleader shortly after he joined the team after years with the Houstyon Oilers.
The suit was settled out of court.
That same year, Moon was also arrested in Texas for an altercation with his first wife Felicia, but was acquitted in the case after his wife testified she started the fight.
He and Felicia divorced in 2002 and three years later he married his current wife Mandy.
Moon took leave from his job as a commentator on the Seattle Seahawks’ radio broadcasts after Haskell’s suit was made public on December 4, the exact date that Moon claims she threatened to file the papers.
Moon said that the November 18 email he received from Haskell stated: ‘If you don’t pay $3 million by Dec. 5, we’re going to go public with these allegations.’