Fired director sues Gray Media over alleged antisemitic remarks from HR

In Rosenthal v. Gray Local Media, Inc. et al. (No. 2:26-cv-02194, D. Kan.), the 54-year-old alleges that antisemitic remarks by senior leaders — including the company’s own HR manager — went unchecked, and that he was ultimately terminated in retaliation for speaking up.

The alleged pattern, as laid out in the filing, began shortly after Gray Media acquired KCTV5 in December 2021. During a management meeting on December 17, 2021, then-General Manager Andrew Stewart reportedly said, “It’s not like we are running a concentration camp here.” Rosenthal, whose grandparents fled Germany during the Holocaust, objected on the spot and reported it to HR Manager Monica Ngo. The filing alleges Ngo disclosed his complaint directly to Stewart, who brushed it off. No meaningful remedial action followed, according to the filing.

A subsequent General Manager, Curtis Miles, allegedly told an internal research team that “Seth is just like a Jewish mother.” And on April 29, 2025, during a sales meeting, HR Manager Larry Eighme allegedly said, “even the Jews are spending money right now!”

Rosenthal says he pushed back immediately.

What happened next is where this case gets especially uncomfortable for the HR profession. Within days, according to the filing, Eighme began questioning department heads about whether Rosenthal had said anything negative about Miles — an investigation Rosenthal characterizes as unprecedented at the station. Eighme allegedly told at least one department head that Rosenthal had said “volatile things,” claims Rosenthal says were false.