The Inbox - May 25, 2012

This week in suits by suits (and jerseys):

• Ellen Pao, a partner in the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has filed a lawsuit alleging sexual discrimination and retaliation.  Pao alleges that she was pressured to have sex with one partner and propositioned by another.  According to Pao, when she reported her complaints to the firm's senior partnership, they retaliated by giving her a smaller share of firm profits, removing her from the board of a startup, and tried to banish her to their China office.

• Women's clothing retailer Francesca's Collections has fired its former CEO, Gene Morphis, alleging that Morphis disclosed non-public insider information over his Twitter and Facebook accounts, including sending tweets such as "Board meeting. Good numbers=Happy Board" a week before the company was set to release its earning numbers.  In the aftermath of Morphis's disclosures, Francesca's stock surged 15% to $26.78 per share.
• And finally, in a "suit by jersey," New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has sued NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for defamation, alleging that Goodell made public false allegations regarding Vilma in connection with the so-called "Bountygate" scandal.  Goodell has publicly accused Vilma of offering a $10,000 cash bounty to any of his teammates who knocked opposing quarterback Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship game.  As a result, Vilma has been suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season.  Two days ago, Goodell said that he would soon make public the evidence supporting the suspensions, including Vilma's.