{"id":3612,"date":"2024-09-23T22:17:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T22:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=3612"},"modified":"2024-09-23T22:17:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T22:17:59","slug":"lowes-employee-ordered-to-change-out-of-his-offensive-shirt-after-customer-complained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xstorynews.com\/?p=3612","title":{"rendered":"Lowe\u2019s Employee \u2018Ordered\u2019 To Change Out Of His \u2018Offensive\u2019 Shirt After Customer Complained"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nKyle Sales, a teenage employee at a Lowe\u2019s in Washington, revealed that he had been forced to remove his shirt after a customer complained that it was racist.
\nA supervisor verbally reprimanded Sales, and asked to remove the shirt, which read: \u201cBlack Panther Wakanda Forever,\u201d and gave him the ultimatum to either buy a new one or go home and change.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe goes, \u2018A customer said your shirt is offensive and racist,\u2019\u201d Sales said. \u201cThis is from a movie. How is this racist?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was furious, but decided to cover up the superhero shirt with a sports jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very angry. It just did not seem fair in light of all of the things that are happening in our in the world right now,\u201d Sales said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t racist. I shouldn\u2019t be punished for a t-shirt from a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sales later heard from a friend that the woman had shown up the next day to ask what punishment Sales had gotten for wearing the shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe came in throwing a fit saying, \u2018What happened to that kid; what was his punishment?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sales had taken up the job at the hardware store a few months ago. He had recently graduated high school and was looking to save money before he begins college at Washington State University.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThe incident reminded Sales of the discrimination he faced in high school and at some of his previous jobs. He stated that kids in school called him the N-word, and that a manager at a prior job used to refer to him as \u201ccolored boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sales\u2019 mother, Kimberly, called the incident \u201cpure, unadulterated discrimination,\u201d adding that Lowe\u2019s owes her son \u201cmore than an apology.\u201d<\/p>\n

When reached for comment, Lowe\u2019s later told a local CBS affiliate that the hardware chain had apologized to Sales.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\u201cMr. Sales should never have been asked to change his shirt, and we have apologized to him directly. We know this is a teachable moment, and we will take action to coach and train the managers at the store to help prevent this from happening again,\u201d a Lowe\u2019s spokesperson said, adding: \u201cDiversity and inclusion are important to our culture at Lowe\u2019s, and we remain committed to fostering an environment where all individuals are safe, treated fairly, valued and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n