Fighting back
A former executive at DraftKings has accused his old employer of trying to ruin his reputation and says that the gambling operator has a long track record of “aggressively smearing employees.” Michael Hermalyn finished up his time at the Boston-based company on February 1 as the Vice President of Growth.
fabrications that aim to “malign and destroy the reputation of a senior employee”
His legal team filed papers in a Massachusetts federal court on Thursday in response to claims that he broke a 12-month non-compete when jumping ship to join Fanatics Betting and Gaming and leaked trade secrets. The filing states that the allegations are fabrications that aim to “malign and destroy the reputation of a senior employee who had the audacity to seek out a better opportunity.”
Hermalyn believes that DraftKings wants to make an example of him in an attempt to scare others from leaving and that it did not show any actual harm that would justify the “extraordinary injunctive relief” it is seeking.
Addressing the claims
DraftKings contended that Hermalyn took time off work by claiming to be mourning the death of a friend when he instead traveled to Los Angeles to meet with Fanatics. His lawyers said that this claim was already proven to not be true, with emails showing that he just canceled some meetings.
DraftKings alleged that Hermalyn went as far as downloading confidential VIP player documents while at the house of Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and sharing them with its rival ahead of the Super Bowl. He says he just transferred files from an old DraftKings-issued computer to a new one due to a technical issue and that the company provided no proof that he shared trade secrets.
both companies have tens of thousands of VIP customers, many of which overlap
Another allegation that Thursday’s court filing addresses was a claim that Hermalyn helped poach a VIP player at the Super Bowl, whilr his lawyers showcased how this individual already had a long-standing relationship with Fanatics. They also noted that both companies have tens of thousands of VIP customers, many of which overlap.
Jumping ship
DraftKings even claimed that Hermalyn enticed two members of its VIP team to join Fanatics. The court filing contests this by explaining how these people frequently reached out to him and that Hermalyn only answered their questions.
They supposedly went so far as using one of their partner’s phones to make a conference call to avoid detection or retaliation by their employer due to its “well-known history of aggressively pursuing employees who leave.”
The court papers outline how 186 DraftKings employees have submitted job applications to Fanatics since 2021.