WABC boss accused of discrimination by sports reporter

WABC/Channel 7 boss Camille Edwards is at the center of a second discrimination complaint.

Laura Behnke, a weekend sports anchor and reporter for Channel 7, has filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights against Edwards for gender and race discrimination, according to the legal complaint obtained Tuesday by Page Six.

It was announced that the main sports anchor, Rob Powers, would be leaving WABC in July of that year. Two female employees approached Behnke and told her, “You deserve to get the job but Camille will never hire you because you’re blond.”

Behnke began temporarily filling in as the main sports anchor on Aug. 3, 2016. Behnke’s agent, Peter Goldberg, told her Edwards had told him Behnke was “doing a good job” and the decision would “be made soon.”

Behnke sent Edwards ideas on how to improve the WABC sports department in August, per Edwards’ request, but she never responded. She followed up with more ideas in September, but Edwards remained silent. On Oct. 6, 2016, general manager Dave Davis informed Behnke the job was going to a man outside the company named Ryan Field, despite promises WABC would promote from within.

Behnke told Davis and Edwards, “The logical explanation is that you did not choose me because I am a woman.”

A month later, Behnke launched a fashion blog, First and Trend. A human resources representative, Rebecca Ressy, informed her she had to take it down because she was “in breach” of contract. Behnke complied, but according to the complaint, “Other male employees, other non-white employees and other employees who did not oppose discriminatory practices” didn’t have to comply with such social media rules.

In February 2017, Behnke was approached again for tagging a brand in an Instagram post. She removed the brand and emailed a response to Edwards and copied a SAG-AFTRA representative, writing, “I did not mean to endorse any brands. If you look at many posts by other talent at the station you will see very similar things. I just want to make sure I’m not being singled out and/or bullied on this matter.”

Eventually, Behnke went to ABC lawyer Tanya Menton to file a complaint about her treatment, claiming Edwards was singling her out because “I am a white female.”

She added, “I believe that is also the reason I didn’t get the main sports anchor position.”

As of Nov. 10, 2017, human resources hadn’t conducted an investigation into Behnke’s complaints.

“Ms. Behnke was going to be New York City’s first female main sports anchor. Unfortunately, as a white woman, she was discriminated against on account of race, color and gender,” Behnke’s attorney, David Rosenberg, told Page Six in a statement.

“We have not received a copy of this complaint, therefore can’t comment to its contents,” a spokesperson for WABC told Page Six in a statement. “Laura Behnke is a current employee whose contract is set to expire in a few weeks. We have offered her an opportunity to remain in her current role with a pay increase.”