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NBA team under fire for allegedly discriminating against a white person

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Racial discrimination lawsuits, especially in the workplace, are nothing new, though they normally involve minorities who claim they were mistreated.

But in a suit filed Friday, a former employee of the Atlanta Hawks claims she was discriminated against because she is a white woman.

Margo Kline says she worked for the Hawks from June 2012 to March 2017 as a community development coordinator in the organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department, according to The Blast.

In 2014, an African-American man named David Lee was given a leadership position in that department, and Kline alleges that he “promoted a culture of discrimination against white individuals.” In addition, she claims she faced discrimination due to the fact that she is a woman.

Lee was allegedly “dismissive” and “exclusionary” toward white, female employees of the team, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Kline also said he would make jokes about “white culture,” as well as favor less qualified black people over white ones when making decisions regarding hirings and promotions.

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Moreover, he allegedly expected more from white females in the department than he did of black employees.

“Kline said the organization ignored her complaints and instead unfairly scrutinized her work and impeded her ability to do her job, often gossiping and ridiculing her,” according to The Journal-Constitution. “The lawsuit also alleges white coworkers were told not to speak with Kline or they could lose their job.”

Kline tried her best to report what she saw as unjust treatment, “but the Hawks did not take action to stop the discrimination,” the lawsuit reads.

And after complaining, she says things only got worse for her, as her colleagues allegedly began treating her “with contempt, negativity, and a lack of respect.”

Do you think Kline will win her lawsuit?

Then, in February 2017, Kline met with the team’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, a black woman named Nzinga Shaw, and discussed the alleged discrimination.

Just weeks later, Kline received a “Final Written Warning” that said there were “ongoing deficiencies in her conduct and/or performance.” She says that despite what the warning seemed to indicate, she had never been disciplined due to poor performance before.

Three weeks after receiving that warning, Kline was terminated by the Hawks.

Kline filed a discrimination charge with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and now, she’s suing under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, though it’s not clear what she is looking to receive in terms of damages.

The Hawks, however, have dismissed the allegations as nothing more than “baseless claims.”

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“We take all claims of discrimination seriously and have performed a thorough review of these baseless claims,” the team said in a statement. “The case was quickly dismissed at the EEOC level. We deny these claims and will vigorously defend against them.”

It’s not the first time the Hawks have come under fire for alleged racial issues. Just last year, the Hawks faced a lawsuit from a former security manager who said that black celebrities entering the team’s arena faced tougher security than white celebrities. That employee said he was fired when he complained about the alleged discrimination.

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.
Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.
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