Fanatics Inc., an American sports apparel company is being sued by the Government of US for alleged racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against a black employee.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week in a district court in Florida, that has been brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, based on a few claims made by a former employee of the world’s largest retailer of licensed sports apparel.
The acquisitions made by the ex-employee cites that one of the team leaders used the N-word on him on his first day at work, along with other racist comments on him by his seniors such as, “I’m not racist but the majority of you [black] guys can’t read.”
Furthermore, to worsen the whole scenario for the US-based company, according to the lawsuit, other Fanatics’ employees reportedly said that, the workplace is racially divided with separate treatment of white and black workers with a former Operations Administrator maintaining that minorities are treated like uneducated slaves.
However, the company issued a statement on the whole matter defending itself and elucidated that the company is committed to provide a fair and unbiased workplace and takes complaints like these very seriously. “We deny any wrongdoing and look forward to vigorously defending these claims in court,” said Fanatics.
Notably, because of its design and manufacturing speed, the brand has transformed the way sports enthusiasts shop for clothing and merchandise, which has led to deep partnerships across professional sports. Fanatics operates the online marketplaces for the NFL, MLB, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, NASCAR and PGA Tour etc.
