Former Raider Sues Redwood City Fire Department: Reports

REDWOOD CITY, CA — A Redwood City firefighter and former Oakland Raiders running back is suing the city and the fire department alleging racial discrimination and a hostile work environment, according to published reports.

Joe Echema said he was subjected to a pattern of derogatory racial comments by peers and supervisors, The San Mateo Daily Journal reports.

He alleged in the interview with KPIX that a fire department captain told him that Black Lives Matter protesters “need to be shot” and that supervisors used the “the N-word” around him, according to a report in The San Jose Mercury News.

“I was harassed continuously because of ethnic background as an African American immigrant,” Echema told the television station.

“I know the nation is captivated with what happens to George Floyd and police brutality, but a lot of the same things in the police department is embedded in the fire department.”

Echema, who was born in Nigeria, played for three NFL teams including the Raiders over parts of four seasons from 2004 to 2007 under the name Adimchinobe Echemandu according to The Mercury News report.

He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round (208th overall) in the 2004 NFL draft after starring collegiately at Cal.

He played six games for the Raiders during parts of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Echema has been a Redwood City fireman for 10 years according to The Mercury News report.

Melissa Stevenson Diaz, Redwood City’s city manager, declined to comment on the case when contacted by NBC Bay Area according to the report.

Read more in The San Jose Mercury News and The San Mateo Daily Journal.