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Paula White says church won't settle lawsuit filed by former employee

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2009

TAMPA - Without Walls International Church Pastor Paula White vowed today to fight to the end a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who worked at the church for 10 days in August.

To a roaring, standing crowd of about 75 supporters, she said: "We are drawing the line and saying enough is enough. We will not be taken advantage of."

The war of words continued today between the pastor and the church's attorney and Joshua B. Randolph, the former youth coordinator who has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit saying that White's son, Brandon, sent him two e-mails containing racial epithets.

Brandon White denied sending the e-mails.

"I woke up a week-and-a-half ago to see that somebody has accused me of being a racist," he said. "If you know me, you know that I would never say anything like that."

During a brief news conference on the lawn across from the church this afternoon, Randolph said he is seeking $2 million, but more importantly to expose what he says is discrimination within the church, which has a congregation that is 60 percent black.

"Their actions are inexcusable," he said, "and no one should be put through this."

The church's attorney, Barry Cohen, told the crowd of supporters that he does not plan to negotiate an out-of-court agreement with Randolph.

"There ain't gonna be no settlement," he said to the applause and standing ovation of the crowd.

The complex story is rife with claims of phony e-mails and text messages and the plans to hire a former NBA head coach — who denied any knowledge of any of this — to be the youth minister at the Tampa mega-church.

Randolph, a former computer repairman from Gainesville, Ga., said he met a man who introduced himself as Avery Johnson, the former coach of the Dallas Mavericks, two years ago and kept in touch via e-mail. Randolph said the man he knew as Johnson sent him a message earlier this year saying he had been hired by the church as a youth minister and that he wanted him to be his assistant.

Randolph was hired in August and worked the $300-a-week job for just 10 days before quitting. Johnson, who works for ESPN, had never had any contact with the church or Randolph, according to a statement issued by his Texas attorney this week.

Church officials believe Randolph was behind the whole thing and say text messages purportedly from Johnson to Paula White were sent from the phone of Randolph's computer repair shop in Georgia.

Randolph can't explain that, he said, but added the whole issue brought up by the church is designed to hide the racist e-mails he received earlier this month.

Today, Randolph also filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court against Cohen, Paula White and the church alleging the attorney's characterization of him having a history of impersonating other people was false and slanderous.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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