A former NBA player is suing United Airlines for discrimination after an exit row incident onboard a flight to Newark.
Eric Murdock was a on a United flight from Las Vegas to Newark with his son. He was seated just in front the exit row and his son was separated from him. He noticed the exit row was open and asked a flight attendant if he could move. She declined, saying the seats were “premium” but did not offer a price to move to them.
A passenger assigned to the exit row across the aisle from the empty row agreed to switch seats with Murdock (it is not clear who requested the switch, but Murdock is 6-1). But the same FA interdicted the change, instructing both passengers to remain in their assigned seats.
About 30 minutes into the flight, another passenger was moved to the exit row. And here’s where the racism charge originated. The FA was white. The passenger moved to the exit row was white. Murdock is black.
During the beverage service service, Murdock questioned why the lady was allowed to move to the exit row and not him. The FA told him to mind his own business. Passenger Brenda Williams, also black, was sitting across the aisle and asked the FA why she was being so rude to Murdock. She was holding her mobile phone and the FA assumed she was recording her and flipped out.
Erase the video now, or give me your phone! It’s against the law to record me!
I may know the Newark-based FA…
But it gets better…
“Or are you going to boycott?”
During the beverage service, the FA asked Murdock what he wanted to drink, but added, “Or are you going to boycott?”
Every lawsuit has a moral and legal dimension. As far as I am concerned, the FA proved herself totally unfit to work in a customer-facing role for making that statement. This was a slap in the face of Murdock.
And it’s not a he-said, she-said, because Williams witnessed the entire incident.
The lawsuit claims that when the flight landed in Newark, the TSA were waiting to question him.
When the plane finally landed, Murdock, a New Jersey native, and Williams were escorted off by security and questioned by armed guards from the Transportation Security Administration, before being allowed to leave without charges.
I don’t know about that. The TSA is not armed, has no jurisdiction to preform post-flight interviews, and cannot detain, arrest or prosecute.
Holes in fact patterns cause me to question larger narratives.
Murdock told the NY Daily News:
In this divisive time people are emboldened to be the worst version of themselves. I never thought that I would personally be in this position, but neither will I back down. If I can use the fame and respect which I have gained to achieve social change I will.
Meanwhile, United has not been served yet and limited its commentary on the case:
At United, we proudly hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind. We are looking into the allegations, and because of the pending litigation, we are unable to provide further comment.
The Law
The $10MN figure is just a bargaining chip to invite further discussion. I look forward to reading the case, but question Murdock’s legal theory. He received the seat he paid for. There are also many explanations for why the white passengers was moved to the vacant exit row, most notably that she was a MileagePlus elite member.
But setting aside the law and lawsuit, what kind of FA treats passengers like this? How do these bad apples continue to get by? I’ve seen my fair share of grouchy, irritable, and rude FAs over the year. I trust this one has been removed pending investigation.
For the record, United’s onboard photo policy doesn’t prohibit recording events like this. The whole “it’s against the law” statement is garbage.
> Read More: Be Very Afraid: United Airlines Loosens Onboard Photo Policy
CONCLUSION
These stories are so sad. So unnecessary. As best I can, I understand Murdock’s anger that he was treated poorly by a race-baiting flight attendant. Is it too much to ask for flight attendants treat all passengers with dignity and respect, as they would want to be treated? Once again, this is an unforced error that will tarnish the reputation of United because of one rogue employee. United needs to crack down.
The Following is My Opinion:
Eric Murdock has a litigious history. He was an employee of the Rutgers University men’s basketball program. He had a one-year contract, which was not renewed. So he sued AND released video of inappropriate behavior and verbal abuse by the head basketball cos h at the time, Mike Rice. Many in the Rutgers community felt (as do I) that Murdock was disingenuous in his alleged concern for the players. He said nothing until his contract wasn’t renewed and then he sued and leaked a tape. I have no firsthand knowledge of what happened on the plane and he may be entirely justified in his belief that the FA was rude and motivated by prejudice. My point is that any story told by Eric Murdock, in my opinion, needs more vetting than the average tale of airline staff behaving poorly.
Exactly! Just another person trying to sue for false racial discrimination for a quick buck. It’s probably Trump’s fault!
That is not what Chris said. So please, don’t start by saying “exactly” and then ending with a tirade that has nothing to do with the OP’s comments.
So we automatically accept his compatriot’s word as the truth? Yeaaah it’s convenient that a random stranger cared enough to ask the perfect questions. If true, fire the FA because she sucks at her job, but……
Even if the FA were an outright hateful racist, nothing she did could possibly be construed as illegal or injurious. 12b6 that into next week and get ready for next week’s opportunist!
A good lawyer can changed a bad day situation into a criminal conduct with intent. American is a litigious society by nature, nothing to do with Trump. Grow up!
The flight attendant did nothing wrong. Why are you so afraid to take off your politically correct straight jacket and stand up for the person who has enough strength and lack of fear to stand up to a person of color – who was dead wrong ???? White guilt I guess. What is it, a free for all for black people to just claim racism at every turn whenever they cannot get what they want, when, where, how they want it over every “perceived” injustice? This stuff happens on every flight to all races of people, including white people. If Eric Murdock had any class or even knew what it was, he would have just been a gentleman and overlooked this incident. Plan ahead, get your seats together when the booking is made or before you get on an airplane. Simple.
I’m of the view that these days cabin crew wield far too much power and some of them use it very badly.
I would like to see a default situation come about that when the police or whoever meet an aircraft and remove a passenger they also remove the cabin crew that the passenger identifies as being involved in the incident for questioning too, after all, all parties are due a fair hearing.
As for rotten apples, well every organisation has some but United seem to have rather more than any responsible organisation should have.
Actually, TSA does have an armed force. They don’t make it obvious but each site has at least one person qualified as a federal law enforcement officer. They can, and do, arrest people before and after a flight but prefer to have local law enforcement take action where possible.
Proof? Do you have documents showing this statutory authority that you can provide?
How old was his kid that he wanted to sit with in the exit row? Legally has to be 18 to sit there. Just saying….
I was on a United Airline flight from Boston to LA in which a female FA intentionally kept skipping me (Asian) and the person next to me (Hispanic) in serving drinks. I’ve reported it to UA and they did nothing. I’ll never fly United even if I have to pay more, and reading about this incident isn’t surprising at all.