2 Players Sue Philharmonic, Saying They Were Wrongfully Suspended

Two New York Philharmonic players sued the orchestra on Wednesday, saying they had been wrongfully suspended after a recent magazine article revived allegations of misconduct against them.

The players, Matthew Muckey and Liang Wang, filed separate lawsuits in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The men claimed that the Philharmonic had removed them without cause and in violation of an arbitrator's ruling, which had ordered the orchestra to reinstate them in 2020 after an earlier attempt to fire them.

The players also sued their union, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, accusing the organization of failing to provide them fair representation.

The Philharmonic, which recently said it would commission an outside investigation into the orchestra's culture in response to the uproar over the article, said that it could not comment on active litigation. Local 802 declined to comment.

The lawsuits came after a report last month in New York magazine detailed accusations of misconduct made in 2010 against Mr. Muckey, the associate principal trumpet, and Mr. Wang, the principal oboist. After the story's publication the Philharmonic moved quickly to remove Mr. Muckey and Mr. Wang from rehearsals and performances and suspend the players with pay for an indefinite period.

In the article Cara Kizer, a former Philharmonic horn player, came forward for the first time to publicly discuss an encounter that she said occurred while she was on tour with the Philharmonic in Vail, Colo., in 2010. She told the Vail Police Department at the time that she had been sexually assaulted after spending the evening with the two players and was given a drink she came to believe was drugged, according to police records. No charges were filed against the men, and both have denied wrongdoing.

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