Trendy Downtown Bowling Alley Struck with Bias Suit

A lawsuit accuses a bowling alley mogul of using Facebook and MySpace to keep certain minorities from making reservations at his nightclub.

Five former workers at Bowlmor Lanes in Union Square filed the lawsuit in Manhattan state Supreme Court. They say they were fired after objecting to what they described as racially discriminatory practices.

The suit says Tom Shannon -- CEO of Strike Holdings, which runs bowling alleys across the country -- allegedly researched prospective patrons on social-networking websites to see how they looked and dressed.

The lawsuit also claims Shannon also wanted terms and conditions for booking events rewritten to prohibit baseball caps, sports jerseys and oversized jeans.

Shannon allegedly held a series of meetings with his top execs "to discuss possible ways to exclude certain people... such as African-Americans, Asians and Latinos," the suit says, according to the New York Post.

His attorney, Mercedes Colwin, called it a "nuisance suit," said Shannon's company, Strike Holdings, was an industry leader in employee diversity.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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