Report: Bandokoudis Sues Entercom for Discrimination

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Afentra Bandokoudis

Afentra Bandokoudis, the former co-host of "Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz" on Alternative KRBZ-FM (96.5 The Buzz)/Kansas City, is suing parent company Entercom alleging discrimination and retaliation after she was fired in 2018, reports the Kansas City Star. Bandokoudis filed suit in U.S. District Court in Kansas in late March, accusing Entercom of paying male air personalities like Johnny Dare and Scott Geiger (aka Lazlo) a larger salary despite her morning show "consistently outperforming" that of her male counterparts.

According the suit, Bandokoudis made a base salary of $100,000 while John Caprefoli (Johnny Dare) on co-owned KQRC-FM, made "considerable higher" than the $185,000 paid to Geiger. Both men also received monthly endorsement rates and special bonuses such as Entercom stock.

Bandokoudis joined KRBZ in 2002 until her termination in August, 2018, except for a two-year stint at a Seattle radio station from 2007-2009, according to the lawsuit and reported by the Star. She married KRBZ afternoon host Geiger, to whom she reported to at KRBZ in 2005. The couple filed for divorce in 2017, which was finalized the following year shortly before Bandokoudis left KRBZ, court records in Johnson County show.

Bandokoudis in 2015 told Geiger of the discriminatory practices she believed were going on at Entercom, which included having a smaller budget than Johnny Dare's morning show, as well as his show receiving preference for booking on-air guests, such as comedy acts appearing in Kansas City, according to the lawsuit.

The newspaper said that Bandokoudis' lawsuit references her involvement in a physical confrontation that occurred at Entercom's offices at an unspecified time, which Entercom allegedly did not investigate. Bandokoudis' suit claims she was fired because of her sex and in retaliation for making complaints to Entercom. She is seeking back pay, lost wages and liquidated damages from Entercom.