LA Radio: Hispanic Sportscaster Sues Lakers. TWC

Fernando Gonzalez

Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Lakers have been jointly named in a lawsuit by a Spanish-language radio announcer claiming he has been racially discriminated against, according to THR.

Fernando Gonzalez is suing the team and the cable company for $1 million in the complaint that was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday.

Read the full complaint: Click Here.

Mexican-American Gonzalez, 53, has worked for the Lakers for 18 years after being hired in 1996 as a Spanish language play-by-play announcer.

Born in Mexico, he is now an American citizen, however he claims that the team has always treated him differently to his "Anglo-American counterparts in terms of wages, hours and terms of conditions of employment," according to the legal documents, which states that neither Gonzalez nor his co-broadcaster, Pepe Mantilla, were usually mentioned in announcements of broadcasters at the beginning of games on the big screen.

The lawsuit also states that when the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2000, "almost all" the staff members and broadcasters received a $6,000 commemorative ring, but Gonzalez and Mantilla were told they had to pay $3,000 each for the memorabilia.

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