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The Bobby Dodd Institute Fired A Woman For Daring To Menstruate
Did you know that women menstruate? Yes, the rumors are true! But this was apparently news to Georgia's Bobby Dodd Institute, given what happened to Alisha Coleman. In 2015, she was going through pre-menopause, which can sometimes produce irregular and heavy periods. This caused her to leak menstrual fluid onto her chair, and she told her supervisor rather than try to blame it on the creepy IT guy and his weird rituals. The understanding fellow then warned her that if an uncontrollable and unexpected natural process made her "soil" something again, she would be fired.
For some reason, Coleman's reproductive system didn't listen to the warning, and the same thing happened a few months later. True to their word, the Institute fired her for failing to "practice high standards of personal hygiene and maintain a clean, neat appearance while on duty." We guess that's exactly the kind of heartless attitude you can expect from a ruthless, uh, nonprofit that helps people with disabilities find work.
Coleman opened a court case which was initially dismissed because Title VII doesn't cover menstrual symptoms unrelated to pregnancy. But she appealed and received a settlement in 2017 on the legal basis of "It turns out vaginas do exist."
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The Astros Had A Completely Avoidable Harassment Scandal
In 2018, the Houston Astros traded for elite closer Roberto Osuna, despite the fact that he had just finished a 75-game suspension for domestic violence. While he may have assaulted the mother of his child, his fastball is really good. The Astros were criticized for welcoming Osuna into their ranks, but countered with the compelling argument that employing an abuser could "raise awareness."
MLBWe're sure that a stadium full of people cheering his name was exactly the kind of awareness-building that victims were demanding.
Jump ahead to 2019, when the Astros, clearly the wokest team in the league, defeated the Yankees in the ALCS (that's the semifinals, for those of you with more Magic cards than baseball ones). During their celebration, assistant general manager Brandon Taubman stared down three female reporters while repeatedly shouting, "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so fucking glad we got Osuna!"
Now, Osuna's sole contribution to the win was to blow a save, which is the exact opposite of what a closer is paid to do. So to the reporters and the Astros staff member who felt compelled to apologize to them, the outburst felt aggressive and targeted. It was, at the very least, a moronic PR blunder, but one that probably could have been smoothed over. After Sports Illustrated reporter Stephanie Apstein wrote about the incident, the Astros could have issued a boilerplate apology, maybe tossed in some shit about the "heat of the moment" or how it was an "educational opportunity" for Taubman. Big organizations like the Astros pay people solely to handle these kinds of incidents with a deft touch.
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