ANNAPOLIS, Md.- A woman filed a discrimination complaint against the mixed-martial arts school where she was a student.
She claims an instructor discriminated against her for complaining about a comment one of the instructors made in the school's PRIVATE FACEBOOK page about left-handed people.
Jennifer Rowe filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Commission in 2019 against her gym, Krav Maga MD, after it posted a comment on its private Facebook page asking why some people have negative attitudes despite having full use of their extremities. Rowe responded, “Because some of us have mental/emotional disabilities.”
The school removed her comment claiming that it violated policy. Rowe contacted the staff over the removal.
Then she emailed complaints to several KMMD staff about an instructor's comment about left-handed people. Finally, she emailed KMMD’s chief executive Jeff Mount, to inform him that if the school “cannot help, then I will have no choice but to initiate an inquiry with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights.”
Mount terminated her membership. Rowe responded by filing a complaint with the Civil Rights Commission.
LESSONS FOR INSTRUCTORS AND SCHOOL OWNERS
- Make sure you have insurance that covers these types of claims.
- Instruct your staff to be careful about their comments.
- Think through your comments and observations to avoid well-intended lessons from being misunderstood or fodder for someone who is looking for a lawsuit the file in hopes of getting a quick settlement.
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