Stanley Panther says he was BETRAYED by his own NHL team -- claiming he was unfairly fired as the team mascot after a serious bout with depression because the honchos didn't like his attitude.
The man behind the lawsuit is Raphael Estevez -- who says he was hired to play Stanley full-time in 2012 and everything was cheertastic until March 2016 ... when he was hospitalized for depression.
Estevez says he missed a week of work -- and when he came back, he was treated like an outcast ... and was falsely accused of taking money from fans and having a major attitude problem.
Estevez says he was removed from the Panthers "Energy Team" -- and was later fired in April.
In the lawsuit, Estevez says he believes he was fired for his disability -- essentially saying the team didn't want a depressed guy in charge of pumping up the crowd.
He's suing for unspecified damages. We called the Panthers for comment, so far no word back.
The man behind the lawsuit is Raphael Estevez -- who says he was hired to play Stanley full-time in 2012 and everything was cheertastic until March 2016 ... when he was hospitalized for depression.
Estevez says he missed a week of work -- and when he came back, he was treated like an outcast ... and was falsely accused of taking money from fans and having a major attitude problem.
Estevez says he was removed from the Panthers "Energy Team" -- and was later fired in April.
In the lawsuit, Estevez says he believes he was fired for his disability -- essentially saying the team didn't want a depressed guy in charge of pumping up the crowd.
He's suing for unspecified damages. We called the Panthers for comment, so far no word back.
