A former assistant to Michael Bidwill is suing the Arizona Cardinals owner, alleging that he "unmercifully harassed" her in an effort to get her to leave the team, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN reports.

Brittany Neuheisel, who was Bidwill's assistant from 2019 until she resigned last week, is suing on claims of constructive discharge, wrongful discharge, discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The 11-page complaint was filed Thursday in the Superior Court of Maricopa County.

According to the complaint, Bidwill was demeaning to Neuheisel and would verbally abuse her "almost every day." Neuheisel left the Cardinals nine days ago and walked out crying after "Bidwill screamed at her for over a half hour," her attorney, Mike Caspino, told ESPN.

Among the many allegations in the lawsuit, Neuheisel says Bidwill demanded that she disavow her children and grandchildren and that he told Neuheisel that her relationships were "affecting her work performance."

Neuheisel says Bidwill asked her to make multiple false claims, including shipping a firearm through FedEx to an acquaintance. Neuheisel says she told Bidwill of the restrictions on shipping firearms but that Bidwill allegedly told Neuheisel "to proceed with the shipment." Bidwill also allegedly asked Neuheisel to "provide false information" on federal and international forms that were related to his travel by private plane, according to the lawsuit. When Neuheisel objected, Bidwill would allegedly tell Neuheisel, a practicing Catholic, "Do it and then go to confession."

The lawsuit says Bidwill wanted to replace Neuheisel, a 54-year-old Navy veteran, with someone who was "young, beautiful and athletic." After the Cardinals hired a woman who fit those descriptions, the lawsuit alleges that Neuheisel's role was diminished and that duties she typically had done were taken over by the new hire.

The Cardinals disputed Neuheisel's claims.

"Earlier this week, the Cardinals received an email from a California-based plaintiff's lawyer," a team spokesman said in a statement. "In it, he threatened to file a lawsuit unless the team agreed to his demand for a substantial amount of money by 5:00PM 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."

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