JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fanatics is facing a federal lawsuit accusing the Jacksonville-based sports retail company of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
Fanatics is a leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise, including NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR merchandise.
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In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges that Fanatics' Jacksonville workplace was racially divided, and that the company subjected employees to racial slurs and comments.
DOCUMENT: Federal lawsuit against Fanatics
(Editor's Note: Contains offensive language)
Some of those comments allegedly said by both managers and employees to and about a black employee were:
- "We don't need any outbreak monkeys here."
- "Why does he have those big Aunt Jemima lips?"
- "I don’t like working with the lazy n-words."
The employee, who was hired in 2012 to work in the Screen Department, was also called the "n-word" by a team lead on his first day of work, according to the lawsuit.
"This type of outrageous discrimination has no place in the workplace,” EEOC District Director Michael Farrell said. “We hope that our lawsuit will send a message, not only to the defendant, but to the entire manufacturing and retail industry, that the EEOC will not tolerate this kind of misconduct -- or retaliation for complaining about it."
According to the lawsuit, which was filed after the two sides failed to reach a settlement, when the employee complained about the treatment, he was told that he would never be promoted.
The lawsuit says that such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"The use of racial slurs in the workplace and retaliating against an employee for complaining is abhorrent," EEOC Regional Attorney Robert E. Weisberg said. "When such abuse occurs, the EEOC will vigorously seek to correct the bad practices and secure an appropriate remedy for the victim."
A Fanatics spokesperson released a statement denying any wrongdoing by the company:
"Fanatics is committed to treating all employees fairly and takes complaints like this very seriously. We deny any wrongdoing and look forward to vigorously defending these claims in court. As the company does not discuss pending litigation, we have no further comment at this time."