New Jersey woman sues fellow soccer mom for 'tarnishing' family's reputation
A former Tiffany & Co. executive is suing a fellow New Jersey youth soccer mom for accusing her husband of "bullying," "fixing tryouts" and "engaging in misconduct relating to sportsmanship" while coaching their 10-year-old children in Ridgewood, N.J., according to a lawsuit obtained by the New York Post.
Siobhan Winograd, who worked for Tiffany's until her son's birth in 2004, reportedly filed a lawsuit in New York's Manhattan Supreme Court, accusing anonymous defendants "Ridgewood Soccer Mom" and "John Doe" of "tarnishing" her family's reputation and inciting "public contempt" within the small community.
Winograd's husband, Michael, is a lawyer who has served as both a coach and administrator for their son's Maroons Soccer Club travel team, accoriding to The Bergen Record. The lawsuit claims harassment from the anonymous woman began in 2011 and reached a boiling in a January 2014 email from "ridgewoodsoccermom@gmail.com" to Michael Winograd's employer.
"The situation stems from the ego (of Michael Winograd) and his belief that his needs trump the needs of the club," the email read, according to the reports. The email also reportedly cited accusations of financial improprieties levied against the soccer club by Siobhan Winograd last year.
The Winograds are seeking unspecified damages, according to the lawsuit.
Ironically, the Ridgewood youth soccer community was reportedly the inspiration for the 2012 independent film "Bad Parents," written and directed by Ridgewood's Caytha Jentis and starring Janeane Garofalo and Christopher Titus. The IMDB description: "A suburban mom relives her season with the soccer obsessed sports parents whose outrageous 'win at all costs' behavior spirals out of control."
