December 16, 2011
In the News: Former NBA Security Director Sues the League; Heart & Soul Plans to Re-emerge and More
Former NBA Security Director Sues the League
After 10 years with the NBA, former security official Warren Glover was fired despite his highly favorable reviews and commendable record.
Glover, 50, says he reported instances of sexual harassment and discrimination against women, only to have his concerns ignored.
He is suing the league for lost wages and damages. In the suit, Glover accuses senior NBA security officials of creating a “hostile work environment†in which he was “demeaned,†“treated differently from other employees,†and denied promotions because of his willingness to speak out.
In one instance, Glover said a senior security official made sexual advances toward a female colleague, and then demeaned her publicly when she rejected his advances. In another, a different security official proposed using sexually inappropriate material as part of a presentation to NBA players.
“They encourage you to report something and when you do, it seems as if it’s taken out on you,†Glover said. “And that’s a problem, I feel.â€
Read more at the New York Times…
Heart & Soul Plans to Re-emerge
If all goes as planned, Heart & Soul, health and fitness magazine geared toward black women, will be acquired by its sixth owner in 23 years.
The group will include veteran journalist George E. Curry and his former colleagues at Black Entertainment Television and the 1990s magazine Emerge.
In a letter to prospective writers, Curry said that he intended to expand the target demographic to include all women of color — not just African American females. Indications are that the new editors have already been hired.
The top editors would replace the editorial team of Yanick Rice Lamb, the veteran journalist who is associate publisher and editorial director, and executive editor Kendra Lee.
Once the deal goes through, the new owners have promised to compensate a group of angry writers who say they are owed more than $200,000 in back pay.
‘White Only’ Pool Sign Owner Says ‘she has no problem with race‘
Jamie Hein, a Cincinnati, Ohio landlord, had a sign hanging on a gate outside of her private pool that read ‘Public Swimming Pool, White Only.’
“I’m not a bad person,†said Hein. “I don’t have any problem with race at all. It’s a historical sign.â€
Hein was unapologetic about the racist origins of the sign, claiming she collects antiques and was given the 80-year-old sign as a gift.
The 31-year-old insists that even though the sign says the pool is public, everyone must ask before getting in her pool.
But Michael Gunn, 40, doesn’t see the sign as simply an antique.
“We invited my daughter, who is African-American, to visit and swim in the pool for the Memorial Day weekend,†Gunn wrote in his complaint. He has filed a discrimination charge against Hein with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
“The owner, Jamie Hein, accused my daughter of making the pool ‘cloudy’ because she used chemicals in her hair. Days later, she posted a sign on the gate to the pool which reads, ‘Public Swimming Pool, White Only.’â€