Dustin Swinehart, described in the suit as Charlotte FC’s first-ever employee, has filed a lawsuit against Tepper Sports and Entertainment, the club’s ownership group, alleging he was fired because of his sex. Swinehart, a longtime Charlotte-area professional soccer player who served as the team’s director of community engagement, claims TSE holds men and women to different standards and, in the filing’s words, “punished men and protected women.”
Swinehart says he was let go in 2024 over what he characterizes as a harmless act of kindness. According to the lawsuit, an employee in his department emailed a family to offer a refund for a youth soccer camp and an invitation to a game suite after two brothers briefly wandered off during the camp and were quickly found. The suit alleges that email angered TSE’s chief human resources officer, Kisha Smith, and that Swinehart was terminated over it and alleged insubordination.
The complaint frames Smith as part of what it calls a “powerful female triumvirate” alongside TSE founder and owner Nicole Tepper and CEO Kristi Coleman, accusing that group of moving quickly to fire men while treating women more leniently. Swinehart’s attorneys allege that female employees faced little or no discipline for far more serious conduct, including drinking on the job and using racially charged language.
The suit brings claims of Title VII sex discrimination and wrongful discharge in violation of North Carolina public policy. Swinehart, represented by Charlotte’s Van Kampen Law, filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC in January 2025 and received a notice of right to sue before taking the case to court in Mecklenburg County. He says he has suffered lost income, future lost wages, emotional distress, reputational harm and other damages, and is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in a jury trial.
Tepper Sports and Entertainment has not addressed the specifics. A spokesperson said the organization is aware of the filing but does not comment on active litigation.
