When Anthony Filomena’s profile about his career as an out gay Chicago Blackhawks PR manager was published on Outsports in April, he felt it was a great opportunity to paint the team’s LGBTQ outreach initiatives in a positive light and continue a conversation about deepening their commitment to our community.

At the end of that week, the Blackhawks let him go.

Now Filomena alleges he was fired as the result of “possible sexual orientation discrimination” shortly after the Outsports article and has retained an attorney for possible legal action.

The Blackhawks have denied that accusation, saying Filomena was fired for insubordination and had received multiple warnings regarding what the team says was “a complete disregard to our policies, procedures and clearly-documented expectations.” They say his being gay had nothing to do with his firing.