An unnamed NFL player is suing United Airlines saying he was sexually harassed, assaulted, and violated by a female passenger on a February flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey. The player says United failed to respond adequately to the complaint. The player is asking for unspecified statutory and punitive damages from the airline.
It’s apparent that the airline didn’t take the player’s complaints seriously.
According to the lawsuit, the player and another passenger in the same row made four complaints to flight attendants that the woman was making “unwanted sexual advances” before she was moved to a different seat.
The two men are suing United, the lawsuit says, because the airline refused to give them the name of the woman, the flight attendants and potential witnesses, and because the airline failed to follow policies to respond to sexual harassment and assault on the Feb. 10 flight.
Double standard, anyone?
But… but… but… she was just being playful, wasn’t she?
According to the lawsuit, the men first alerted flight attendants that the woman was disruptive and belligerent and appeared to be intoxicated. They notified the flight attendants again when the woman made sexual advances toward the NFL player, massaging his knees and thighs. More than an hour into the flight, the woman’s advances intensified, the men allege, and she allegedly grabbed and groped the player. Flight attendants again were notified.
The woman continued her advances, the lawsuit says, pulling off the protective face mask the player was wearing and grabbing his genitals. At that point, the player jumped up from his seat and complained in front of the entire plane that the woman was touching him. The player went to the rear of the plane and again notified a flight attendant. That’s when the woman was removed from the row, according to the lawsuit.
The company issued a boilerplate statement that didn’t address the issue.
“The safety and well-being of our customers is always our top priority,” a spokesperson for United said in a statement on Wednesday. “In this instance, the customer involved was moved to a different seat. Because litigation is now pending, we’re unable to provide further comment.”
The airline treated the NFL player’s complaint a helluva lot differently than they would have if the complaint came from a woman. If a man grabbed a woman’s genitals on a flight, he would have been arrested immediately after deboarding. This woman wasn’t even identified by the airline.
The women pushing the #MeToo movement don’t care if anyone believes a man when he claims to have been harassed or assaulted. In fact, any such claim from a man is immediately suspect. The woman could have been falling down drunk (she apparently was), abusive, obnoxious, and handsy, but it won’t matter. Whatever she says happened, it will be spread as the gospel truth.
Because… always believe women.
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