Chicago Bears settle lawsuit with white man after complaint about not being named Legal Diversity Fellow

Jonathan Bresser, a student at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, filed a lawsuit against the NFL team Chicago Bears after they posted that they were hiring for a “legal diversity officer” and he claimed he was turned down because he’s a white man. The football team settled the case at an in-person settlement conference on Aug. 27.

According to Bresser applied for the November 2023 fellowship. The announcement states that the candidate should be from a neighborhood school and can work with the Chicago Bears for the summer. The fellow “will have the opportunity to work with the Club’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department on a variety of the Club’s DEI goals, initiatives, and priorities.” However, it also states that the candidate should be an individual of color and/or a law student.

Bresser noted that his qualifications include greater than two years of experience as a litigation paralegal at Trent Law Firm, PC. He also stated that he’s committed to diversity issues.

He received an email notification that the team had rejected his application on Jan. 5. They said they “decided to pursue other candidates whose experience and qualifications better match our needs.” Unsatisfied with the rationale, Bressier filed a lawsuit on March 11, alleging that the Bears violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and its Illinois equivalent by denying his application because he’s a white male.

Bresser’s lawsuit included a printout of his LinkedIn profile that exposed someone on the Bears had viewed a profile that had a photograph of him. There’s speculation the choice was based on a photograph of a white male. In the documents, he said he received a rejection shortly after it was shown someone on the team had reviewed his profile.

Bresser’s attorney confirmed the settlement but would not disclose the final result attributable to confidentiality reasons. The Bears did not reply to a request for comment.