5

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."

4

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.

3

B&H Photo Had Segregated Bathrooms In 2016

B&H Photo was founded in 1973, and went on to become one of New York City's most successful businesses despite never advancing through time with the rest of us. In 2016, the Department of Labor hit them with a lawsuit alleging that their hiring practices for warehouse jobs caused the "complete exclusion of female employees and the near exclusion of black and Asian employees." They did hire Hispanic workers, but they were paid less than white employees and were "subjected to racist remarks, degrading comments and harassment at the worksite." Oh yeah, and they had to use their own "separate, unsanitary and often inoperable restrooms," which is the gold standard for racism.

2

Ernst & Young Holds A Seminar Telling Women How To Act Like Proper Ladies

Amid the #MeToo movement, when companies everywhere were rushing to teach proper workplace behavior, the accounting titan Ernst & Young boldly stood up and swore to make a difference by telling their broads to get in line. EY's "Power-Presence-Purpose" seminar taught female executives how to thrive in the modern workplace, whether it was keeping their nails immaculate or choosing clothes that wouldn't "scramble the mind" of their male colleagues. Finally, a major corporation willing to say that it takes two to have a harassment scandal!

1

The WWE Sold A Shirt With Some ... Unfortunate Implications

Jordan Myles may sound like the name of your least interesting teacher, but he's a wrestler who worked with WWE's NXT brand, right up until some events you're going to learn about a couple of sentences from now. Wrestlers get a cut of their merchandise sales, and so it was in everyone's interest to start slinging Myles shirts. He signed off on a prototype and the WWE went ahead, although they did make one minor change without his consent. But surely there was no way he could be upset about the white background he approved being changed to bla- oh, holy shit.

WWEYup, it's this again.