Dave Crawley accuses KDKA, CBS of age discrimination, retaliation after Regatta plunge

Longtime Pittsburgh television news reporter David Crawley claims in a federal lawsuit he was discriminated against because of his age and retaliated against by his employer, KDKA-TV and its parent company CBS Corp., after he was hurt in a 2017 stunt he was assigned to do during the Three Rivers Regatta.

Crawley, 72, was hurt after plunging off a 22-foot pier into the river in a contraption to promote the 2017 Red Bull Flugtag event.

Crawley suffered injuries to his spleen, his diaphragm and a traumatic brain injury, among other ailments after the Aug. 4, 2017, fall, according to the suit.

Although he returned to work for 10 days afterward, he didn’t feel well and on Aug. 21, 2017, Crawley collapsed while covering a story, according to the suit, and he’s been unable to work since then.

A separate lawsuit filed in July 2019 against EQT Three Rivers Regatta and Red Bull is making its way through Allegheny County’s court system.

The new suit claims KDKA and CBS Corp. retaliated against Crawley for his workers’ compensation claim filed because of the injuries. It also alleges age discrimination and retaliation against Crawley by the station and its corporate owners.

CBS officials didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Crawley has worked more than four decades in the television industry and had been a special assignments reporter with KDKA since 1988.

His suit contends that since the injury, he’s been urged by KDKA to resign and the station didn’t renew his contract. Also, since 2017, CBS has “vigorously contested” his workers’ compensation claim, according to the suit.

CBS has also attempted to “erase” Crawley’s legacy at KDKA, according to the suit, which noted that in the 70-year anniversary specials of the station produced in 2019, Crawley appears just once — in a blurry group photo, according to the lawsuit.

The specials drew largely from content that Crawley helped to create for an earlier 50-year celebration of the station, which Crawley wrote and narrated, according to the lawsuit.

Elimination of Crawley from the station’s history has damaged his professional reputation and caused him “significant emotional and mental anguish,” the lawsuit states.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.