A casino worker in Las Vegas has lost her case against former NFL star Richard Sherman over two incidents in which he verbally abused her. [Image: Flickr.com / Erik Drost]

Unsuccessful appeal

A worker at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has lost her appeal in a case against former NFL player Richard Sherman. The federal appeals court did not reverse a judgement regarding two incidents of the now 35-year-old verbally berating Tonya Hale in 2018.

claimed that the Super Bowl winner intentionally inflicted emotional distress

US District Court Judge James Mahan granted the motions to dismiss the claims in the original case in March 2020. The table game supervisor contended that the Super Bowl winner intentionally inflicted emotional distress. She also alleged the property did the same and said that it was a hostile work environment.

Concerning incidents

The first incident saw Sherman berate Hale unabated for between 15 and 25 minutes after she prevented him from wagering more than the table’s betting limit. No employees stepped in to stop Sherman during his tirade and he left the property of his own accord. The property’s vice president of table games reviewed video footage of the altercation shortly after and stopped the NFL player from returning that night.

Richard Sherman was a five-time Pro Bowler and played for the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had a reputation as a trash-talker on the field.

A month later he went back to the property and the same thing happened. Hale alleged that he screamed at her “mother f**ker, f**k I’ll have your job, you don’t tell me what to do.” She claimed that her shift manager saw both tirades and did nothing. Patrons and fellow employees came up to her after both tirades to remark about how inappropriate the comments were.

Judge dismisses the claims

In dismissing the appeal on Monday, US District Court Judge James Mahan admitted that Sherman’s conduct was “certainly insulting and perhaps even threatening.” Despite this, the judge concluded that Hale failed to sufficiently prove that the former NFL player engaged in extreme or outrageous conduct as the insults and threats were not conduct that is “outside all possible bounds of decency or utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”

Hale claimed that The Cosmopolitan didn’t do anything about Sherman’s actions and that it was a hostile work environment as she was harassed for her gender without her employer doing anything. The judge on Monday found that Hale failed to prove that the inaction of her supervisor was “extreme or outrageous conduct.”

Hale still works for the casino and now has a higher salary, as well as the ability to choose the table games she works on.