Former Arizona Cardinals employee sues team owner Michael Bidwill

PHOENIX - We have obtained documents surrounding a lawsuit that was filed against Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill.

The complaint was filed by Bidwill's former assistant, who says Bidwill ‘unmercifully harassed’ her to ‘drive her to leave the Cardinals.’

What we know:

The newly-filed complaint for damages says the plaintiff, 54-year-old Brittany Neuheisel, was hired in 2019 as personal assistant to Bidwill.

In the lawsuit, Neuheisel says Bidwill ‘tormented’ her for failing to ‘disavow members of her own family,’ and refusing to ‘participate in illegal conduct.’

The lawsuit accuses Bidwill of disparaging Neuheisel for how she raises her family, allegedly calling her an ‘enabler,’ saying her relationship with her kids and grandkids was affecting her work performance.

The complaint says Neuheisel was also tasked with completing federal and international disclosures related to Bidwill’s private airplane travel. She claims Bidwill demanded that she provide false information on the forms.

The lawsuit says Bidwill referred to Neuheisel’s Catholic practices when she objected to those instructions, allegedly telling her ‘do it and then go to confession.’

In early 2021, Neuheisel claims Bidwill told her to ship a firearm via FedEx to an acquaintance, and when she told him about restrictions on shipping the gun, he stated "that’s not what I asked. Just ship it."

The complaint also accuses Bidwill of trying to replace Neuheisel with someone 'young, beautiful and athletic.'

According to the complaint, the Cardinals’ VP of Executive Operations told Neuheisel it was her job to find Bidwill a girlfriend.

When the organization hired a woman to serve as the Cardinals’ Director of Events, she took over some of Neuheisel’s duties, and from that point, Bidwill verbally abused her nearly every day, per the complaint.

Cardinals officials issue statement

We reached out to the Cardinals for comment on the lawsuit, and a spokesperson for the organization replied with a statement.

What they're saying:

"Earlier this week, the Cardinals received an email from a California-based plaintiff’s lawyer. In it, he threatened to file a lawsuit unless the team agreed to his demand for a substantial amount of money by 5:00 p.m. the next day. The team refused, and the lawyer has now filed the Complaint. The Cardinals were surprised by and strongly deny the allegations made in this lawsuit, and intend to defend the case on its merits in the appropriate forum. As this is now pending litigation, the team will refrain from further comment."