A high-powered sports agent who represents Baseball Hall of Famer David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz, Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig, pro golf wunderkind James Piot, and scores of other top athletes is accused of repeatedly groping a male executive, getting especially handsy during out-of-town business trips to high-profile events including the NFL draft.
After Radegen Sports Management executive vice president Ryan Henderson complained about founder and president Alexander Radetsky’s lewd advances, the 46-year-old Radetsky, who is married, forced him out of the company, stiffed him on more than $100,000 in commissions, and attempted to deep-six his future career prospects by badmouthing him around the industry, according to a civil suit obtained by The Independent.
The experience has caused Henderson, 38, “mental trauma,” “immense emotional distress,” and “physical manifestations of anxiety and depression symptoms wherein he has difficulty breathing, sleeping, and performing normal activities of daily life,” according to his complaint.
Attorney Paul Liggieri, who is representing Henderson, told The Independent that the case is “definitely one of the most egregious” he has dealt with in his 10-plus years of practice. He said Henderson has suffered greatly, but is also “a resilient guy.”
“He’s working again as a sports agent, but I can tell you that for the time that he was there, this weighed on him heavily,” Liggieri said.
Radetsky did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Henderson began working for Radegen in 2019, and quickly earned a reputation as a top producer in the firm’s New York headquarters, his complaint states. Among other achievements, it says Henderson started the company’s golf division, brokering the sports world’s first licensing agreement with Saudi-backed PGA competitor LIV Golf, convinced EA Sports to include female hockey players for the first time ever in the NHL 22 video game franchise, and represented three first-round draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft: Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions, Ikem Ekwonu of the Carolina Panthers, and Treylon Burks of the Tennessee Titans.
In terms of Radegen’s bottom line, Henderson increased the size of its hockey division by 100 percent, its Olympics division by 300 percent, and its football division by 400 percent, according to the complaint.
Just before the Covid lockdowns in early 2020, Henderson was molested for the first time while at a company gathering at Slattery’s, a bar and grill in Midtown Manhattan, the complaint alleges. After Radetsky grabbed the crotches of two male coworkers, the complaint says he “groped [Henderson’s] penis and rubbed his hand over [his] crotch area,” leaving him “mortified and in shock.”
Once the pandemic restrictions were lifted, Henderson headed to Indianapolis in March 2022 to attend the NFL Scouting Combine, where prospective recruits are assessed by teams prior to the draft. Once there, Henderson met up with Radetsky at the famous St. Elmo Steakhouse, which has been described by ESPN as the city’s “emotional center” during the four-day event.
“At this meeting… Radetsky once again sexually assaulted [Henderson] by groping [his] penis over his pants and grabbing his crotch in front of a number of other colleagues,” the complaint states, further claiming that Radetsky also “inappropriately groped and touched” three other Radegen staffers at the restaurant.
A shocked Henderson told Radetsky that what he was doing was wrong, to which Radetsky responded by smacking Henderson in the groin, according to the complaint.
The following month, Radetsky sent Henderson to Las Vegas for the NFL draft, where he would be representing a number of hopefuls on Radegen’s client roster, the complaint continues. Once Henderson landed, he headed to the Delano (since rebranded as the W), where he was staying, and was immediately “ordered” by Radetsky to join him at the hotel bar, the complaint goes on. Henderson told Radetsky that he first needed to drop off his bags, and as he waited for the elevator to go up to his room, Radetsky appeared at his side, called him a “p***y,” and groped his crotch, according to the complaint.
Henderson’s complaint describes Radetsky’s actions as “appalling,” and says Henderson told him, in no uncertain terms, that his advances were entirely unwelcome. But, instead of addressing Henderson’s objections, Radetsky texted Radegen’s senior director of client and partner services and criticized his job performance, which, the complaint contends, “could[‘nt] be farther from the truth.” The next day, Radetsky “purposely missed” a number of meetings Henderson had arranged, “setting [him] up to fail,” the complaint alleges.
A little more than a year went by, without major incident. Then, in August 2023, Henderson was at a company business dinner, hosted by Radetsky, at Shanahan’s Steakhouse in Denver, Colorado, according to the complaint. During the meal, it says Radetsky told the gathered employees that everyone was going to do a “team shot” of tequila, which Henderson politely declined.
Radetsky then “became irate and berated [Henderson], calling him a p***y and slapping [him] in the face,” the complaint states. “Radetsky then reached out, holding the tequila shot in his hand and violently pushed it against [Henderson’s] chest. When [Henderson] declined the shot once more… Radetsky again called [him] a p***y and… groped [Henderson] yet again in a sexual manner on his crotch area.”
Once again, Henderson’s protestations were met with indifference, the complaint alleges.
Henderson was nearing the end of his rope, but needed the job to support himself financially, according to the complaint. So, in October 2023, when his employment contract was up for renewal, Henderson told Radetsky that he wanted to keep working at Radegen, but “expressed in no uncertain terms” that the groping and touching must stop, the complaint says.
Instead, Radetsky veered wildly off-script, refusing to discuss the relevant details of Henderson’s contract, the complaint contends. Radetsky then made Henderson a lowball offer, which the complaint says was “retaliation” for Henderson refusing Radetsky’s come-ons. Henderson subsequently came back with a counteroffer, only to find Radegen’s general counsel unwilling to negotiate, “effectively terminating [Henderson’s] employment without good cause,” according to the complaint.
“In my line of work, nothing is a coincidence,” Liggieri told The Independent. “When one thing follows another very closely, it’s more than a coincidence. It’s a case. My guy’s getting groped, he complains about it, and all of a sudden, no more contract? Pretty ridiculous, is all I’m saying.”
The complaint says Radegen at the time owed Henderson more than $100,000 in commissions, which Radetsky refused to pay and remain outstanding to this day. Adding insult to injury, Radegen’s general counsel soon began emailing Henderson continuously, “falsely accusing” him of soliciting Radegen’s clients, “even though the evidence shows that this is patently false,” the complaint states. Further, it alleges, Radetsky and his minions “attempted to tarnish [Henderson’s] career” following his departure from the agency by “knowingly and deliberately” circulating “false and defamatory statements” about him throughout the business.
“After years of constant mental abuse, hostile work practices, and exploitative management… Henderson has suffered and continues to suffer immense emotional distress and has further experienced physical manifestations of anxiety and depression symptoms wherein he has difficulty breathing, sleeping, and performing normal activities of daily life,” according to the complaint.
Henderson is now asking a judge to award him compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, lost wages, back pay, front pay, medical expenses, and attorneys' fees. Radegen and Radetsky have one month from January 30, when they were formally served with Henderson’s lawsuit, to file a response in court.
