Top squash coach Natalie Grainger says Westchester Club members slept with prostitutes and staff in lawsuit
RYE, NEW YORK: One of the top female squash coaches in the country filed a lawsuit against the prestigious country club in Westchester County on Thursday, March 2, claiming that "prominent" members slept with staff members, seduced them, and possibly even drugged and raped a female employee. Natalie Grainger, a squash expert, claims in a federal retaliation lawsuit that she was removed from her $145,000 per year job at the Rye-based Westchester Country Club after complaining about the lewd behavior.
The lawsuit claims that after Grainger, 45, was appointed squash head of the club in 2018, she discovered in August of that year that one of her "direct reports" had been having a relationship with a "prominent" member. The club, which has two world-class golf courses, a beach club on the Long Island Sound, and charges a $170,000 initiation fee, "separated" the employee from the club because of the relationship, the lawsuit claims.
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Who is Natalie Grainger?
According to the lawsuit, Grainger is among the most accomplished squash players in the world, a three-time US Open champion, and the only player – man or woman — to hold the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. She coached the US national squad for 15 years and was a board member of Squash Haven, an "enrichment program" for at-risk youth, for 11 years.
What did Grainger find out?
Grainger discovered in 2021 that a different club member was allegedly having an affair with another one of her employees, as per New York Post. Due to the relationship, the employee's success at work started to suffer, and Grainger became concerned that sexual harassment was becoming an increasingly big issue at the club. "In or about October 2021, Grainger became especially concerned about sexual harassment at the Club when she discovered a trail of text messages among male Club members discussing a 'lineup' of women they had apparently picked out for the evening’s ‘fun,'" the suit reads. "The text exchange, which was sent to Employee 2 by Member 1, included pictures of three provocatively dressed women who appeared to be sex workers."
'Not for squash'
The worker's sister phoned Grainger in the year 2020 concerned that her brother had been doped up while out with the club member who had bragged about the "lineup" of women. "Grainger subsequently learned that Member 1 paid Employee 2 and, as Member 1 admitted, 'not for squash,'" the suit says. "Grainger also learned that another female employee ('Employee 3') complained that she was sexually assaulted by another male Club member at one of Member 1’s personal residences."
'Hired less-qualified man, who moonlights as disc jockey'
According to the lawsuit, Grainger frequently voiced her concerns about these allegations to various club officials, including a board member, but was ignored. The lawsuit claims that the club chose to dismiss Grainger in March 2022 rather than having the accusations looked into. The suit claims that after she was dismissed, the club hired a "less-qualified man, who moonlights as a disc jockey," to take her place. Grainger seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages for discrimination, breach of contract, and retaliation.