Nike has become the social justice warrior of sports apparel. They have lifted up Colin Kaepernick like an idol, despite his utter misguidance. However, they must have forgotten to read politically correct handbook on gendering and now they pay the price.
A former contractor for Nike filed a $1.1 million civil lawsuit with claims of being misgendered. Apparently her coworkers failed to use “nonbinary” gender pronouns when addressing her.
Jazz Lyles, a biological woman who considers herself “transmasculine/nonbinary,” is a computer engineer who formerly worked in Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. She filed a civil rights lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Nike and the California-based firm Mainz Brady holding them liable for gender identity-based discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, the Willamette Week reports.
Lyles says she requested from the outset to be referred to by “they,” “them,” or “their,” but across multiple assignments was repeatedly “misgendered” by Nike employees and Mainz Brady contractors alike. The “misgendering” allegedly ranged from peers who told her their faith barred them from using transgender pronouns, to those who mocked her with greetings like, “hey girl, what’s up?”
According to her complaint, she had to use her sick leave and work from home due to coworkers continuing to use female pronouns instead of listening to her demands. She claims she spoke to her superiors but they did nothing.
“Nike had a pattern and practice of turning a blind eye to reported and known harassment,” the lawsuit states, “instead blaming the harassed, treating them [sic] as the problem and as troublemakers, all the while failing to ever investigate or take corrective action to remedy the harassment.”
A Nike spokesperson responded that the company was “committed to a culture of diversity, inclusion and respect where everyone can succeed and realize their full potential.” The law firm representing Nike, Stoel Rives, was more candid: “Lyles was a mediocre [contractor] with a limited skill set...Lyles' allegations are without merit.”
Nike manager Paddu Ramachandran said, “None of us were aware of their preferred pronouns.”
“Lyles is free to refer to herself however she wishes and dress in any style that doesn’t violate company policies. But what about the free speech rights of her former coworkers who may hold different opinions?” Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw notes. “People are allowed to say far more mean-spirited things than this in the public square. Yes, speech can be regulated in the workplace within reason, but beyond that, the courts have generally held that words aren’t damaging unless you’re yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
It is absolutely ridiculous for people to actually claim ridiculous pronouns and other genders in their personal life. It is even more absurd for them to do so in the work place. Normal people should not be forced to participate in mental illness.
