Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against a Pittsburgh company he had promoted for its commitment to diversity.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania, western district. It cites breach of contract and seeks $66 million in damages.
The former Steelers star and Super Bowl winner contends EQT Production Company, an energy corporation, owes Bettis' IntegrServ trucking company money and dropped its commitment to use minority-owned businesses. Bettis and brother John own 51% of IntegrServ.
EQT has denied wrongdoing, alleging IntegrServ mismanaged its part of the contract.
"We filed the lawsuit because we believe we were treated unfairly.," Bettis said in a statement provided to ESPN. "We had to take a stand against this kind of injustice."
According to the lawsuit, EQT agreed with two of Bettis' white partners to supply services that were previously contracted to IntegrServ.
ESPN's Brooke Pryor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.