Mets: executive fired over 'conflicts,' not for having baby out of wedlock

The New York Mets and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in court papers filed Friday that they fired former vice-president for ticket sales Leigh Castergine because she had differences with her supervisor, not because she had a baby out of wedlock.

Castergine, a senior executive with the team from 2010 to 2014, sought damages for discrimination in a well-publicized lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court in September that said Wilpon let her go after making disparaging remarks about her unmarried status.

The Mets and Wilpon said at the time only that the lawsuit was without merit.

In the new court papers, they claim "business issues and conflicts" arose before anyone knew Castergine was pregnant, and her supervisor eventually decided to let her go despite "longstanding support" from Wilpon.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 7.