Former NFL star who took over ‘one of the UK’s prettiest pubs’ becomes locked in a row with a wealthy landowner after claiming he is being forced out of business because of his race

An English country pub owner turned American footballer has found himself in legal battle with landowners after claiming he was being forced out of business because he is black and from the United States.

Lorne Sam, 39, spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos in the NFL before moving from high-performance sport to the genteel atmosphere of the Carrington Arms in Leicestershire.

According to the website, the pub is “probably the nicest” in the area.

But the noses were left dislocated after Mr Sam claimed he was “treated differently” than the pub’s previous tenants because of his background.

Mr Sam has become embroiled in a public row – which has now reached court – with Alex Stroud, a descendant of the historic local lords of the manor, the Smith-Carrington family, and one of the controllers of the land trust that owns the pub in the village of Ashby Folville. Mr Sam said he was forced to close after a row with the owners over the interior decoration of the historic hotel.

Lorne Sam, 39, said he was “treated differently” than the pub’s previous tenants because of his background.

Mr Sam has become embroiled in a public row – which has now reached court – with Alex Stroud, a descendant of the manor’s historic local lords, the Smith-Carrington family.

His lawyers say the root of all difficulties lies in the fact that he is “American and black” and claim “racial discrimination”, which Mr Stroud categorically denies and calls “ridiculous”.

Stroud, 54, is leading a bid by Ashby Folville Land Trust (AFLT) trustees to evict Sam’s company, Carington Hospitality Ltd, on the grounds that he owes £13,000 in rent.

In a written defense filed at Leicester District Court, Mr Sam’s barrister Philip Noble said that after his client occupied the 19th-century inn near Melton Mowbray, he was visited by Mr Stroud and his wife Lucy.

The barrister said the Strouds “informed him of how the pub’s furnishings could be improved to suit their tastes and how the food could be improved to cater for their friends after filming on the estate.”

Mr Noble added: “They asked Lorne Sam to carry out other improvements to the decor and finishes of the house, despite the fact that such improvements were not necessary or required by the tenancy agreement.

“They made it clear that they relied on the pub for post-filming parties… and asked Lorne Sam to set up a kitchen to cater for that requirement.”

Mr Noble said his client suggested in August that he was “being treated differently from previous tenants and suggested that such treatment may be related to his race and colour”. But instead, the AFLT “decided to exclude the defendant from the premises.”

Mr Noble told the judge that the £13,000 debt arose before Mr Sam took over the company and an agreement was reached with the trustees that the £4,961 payment he made to February this year, will pay off the pub’s debt.

Stroud, 54, is leading a bid by Ashby Folville Land Trust (AFLT) trustees to evict Sam’s company, Carington Hospitality Ltd, on the grounds that he owes £13,000 in rent.

Lorne Sam, 39, spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos in the NFL before moving from high-performance sport to the more genteel surroundings of the Carrington Arms in Leicestershire.

The Carington Arms store in Leicestershire is “probably the nicest” in the county, according to its website.

Russell Davies, the trustees’ lawyer, denied that Sam or his company were treated differently. He said the Strouds regularly visited the Carington Arms as they lived nearby and were “keen to promote the success of the business, including introducing customs”. It was denied that “they were trying to run” Mr Sam’s business and detailed how Mr Stroud arranged for and paid for the replacement of carpeting and the installation of new pipes and a radiator in the pub “despite the fact that he was under no obligation to do so do”.

Mr Davies said “reasonable and proportionate” attempts had been made to collect the unpaid rent, but Mr Sam’s company had failed to adhere to the agreed repayment schedule. In emails between Mr Sam and Mr Stroud, which Mr Sam later posted on the pub’s Facebook page, Mr Stroud said: “Lucy and I were delighted from day one and we welcomed you with open arms hugs.

“Any suggestion that you are treated differently because of the color of your skin or your nationality is deeply offensive, deeply upsetting and ludicrous.”

The case is expected to go to full court next year.