WSB-TV 2: Deaf man suing Atlanta Braves
I read an article from WSB-TV 2 Atlanta that said a deaf man from Alabama, Clyde McKinney, Jr., is suing the Atlanta Braves with the allegation that his rights under the ADA were violated when he was passed over for an IT (information technology) job because he is deaf.
The report said according to the lawsuit, McKinney applied for a position as the Director of IT Engineering and Architecture at the Braves’ corporate office in the Atlanta area in January 2023. He had decades of experience as a data and network system engineer for several large corporations, including IBM.
McKinney made it through two rounds of virtual interviews. For his third interview, he met with the Braves’ Senior Vice President of Technology Scott Waid in March 2023. This is what Waid looks like. There was an interpreter present in the interview.
McKinney said Waid asked inappropriate questions that focused on his deafness and felt that he was not asking him about his understanding of technical issues.
Some of the questions were on how much McKinney could hear, how much he relied on his interpreter, whether the interpreter would have to come to work, the costs associated with an interpreter and whether the interpreter was knowledgeable on IT issues.
McKinney’s lawsuit also said Waid made remarks on how his impairment might compromise his ability to serve as a thought leader and personnel manager and generate a communications barrier.
McKinney said a month after the third interview, he was informed that he did not get the job. McKinney raised concerns about how the Braves focused on his deafness rather than his experience with a Braves job recruiter.
In June 2023, he contacted the EEOC to file a complaint for discrimination based on his disability.
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McKinney said after he raised concerns within the Braves organization, a member of the Braves’ HR team did an internal review. That HR person said Waid acknowledged that he did tell McKinney that he was not a good candidate due to his communication barriers and the potential cost of hiring a full-time ASL interpreter. When McKinney told that HR person he had already filed a complaint with the EEOC, that person ceased communicating with him.
The news report said the Braves filed a legal response denying any discrimination and denying any and all allegations in McKinney’s EEOC complaint.
McKinney said he would have been able to perform this job if he was hired, with or without reasonable accommodation.