Aaron Slator, the AT&T; executive who was fired in 2015 amid accusations of racial discrimination, is now suing the company.
Slator was president of video content and sales at the time, Fortune reports, and he was working on the DirecTV acquisition.
In the lawsuit filed today in Los Angeles, Slator accuses the company of breach of contract and defamation.
His lawyer said AT&T; had assured him his job was secure during an investigation in 2013 after an executive assistant allegedly found a racist text on his phone. But in 2015, after another assistant filed suit for discrimination and harassment, AT&T; fired Slator, citing the texts.
"Then almost two years later, with no new evidence or allegations and without investigating the matter, AT&T; unceremoniously fired Mr. Slator," Slator's lawyer, Patricia Glaser of Glaser Weil, said in a statement.
The second assistant's claims were later dismissed in court.
In a statement Tuesday, AT&T; said it will fight the lawsuit and believes the firing of Slator was justified.
"Diversity and inclusion are important core values to us," the statement said. "We stand behind our decision to terminate Mr. Slator and are confident that his baseless allegations will ultimately be rejected."