Carlos Brown a young man who has a passion for gymnastics and dance has always dream to become a cheerleader for a professional team. He saw that the Patriots team were having an audition for the cheerleading dance team and after realizing he has met the requirements, he decided to give it a try and is cheerleading a sport? Carlos arrived at the audition, there were amidst of whether or not he should be permitted to audition. Carlos was able to audition and made it to the final audition. Even though he was excellent at the final, Carlos was greeted with boos and different types of comments from the fans of Patriots. Due to this, the Patriots decided they will not have Carlos to be a part of the team. Carlos then decided to sue the team under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex.
Carlos situation brings forth the issue of discrimination and more specifically employment discrimination as defined under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under Title VII of the Act, employers are prohibited against discriminating against or making workplace policies that are violent towards the protected groups under the Act. As such, any person who falls within any of the protected groups, either employees or people seeking employment can under the Act bring legal actions against any employer who discriminates against them.
Carlos has a valid case against the Patriots team because the Patriots has violated the Title VII Act. Carlos Brown was discriminated against the basis of sex in violation of Title VII. In court, it can be argued that the Patriots discriminated him because they believe he wasn’t insufficiently stereotypical masculine. Arguing this in court he will be able to win a favorable decision which will hold the patriots liable for discriminating against him based on sex under Title Vii of the Civil Rights Act.
It is unlawful for the Patriots team not to hire Carlos because of his sex. Title VII law does not allow employers to treat employees in a different way than others because they’re not the right individual. For instance, in the Price Waterhouse v Hopkins case where Hopkins was told to improve her chance she will need to be more femininely. Hopkins was able to win a favorable decision in her case. Also, from the way the fans and Patriots behave towards Carlos they’re assuming that Carlos is gay without any evidence to support that claim.
The Supreme Court observed and upheld the provisions of Title VII by stating that employers are not allowed to make any employment policies, restrictions or requirements that are violent or inappropriately unfavorable towards one gender. Therefore, in this matter, the Patriot is at fault of violating Title VII and hence Carlos has a legal cause of action against the management.
On the other hand, the Patriots team can argue on the basis that certain traits are BFOQ such as physical appeal and femininity are a priority for the team to maintain its fan base, the team’s image, and economic gain. For instance, Southwest believe that “its female-only hiring policy is necessary for the continued success of its imagine and its business.” Based on the decision of the Court, it is exceptional in some circumstances that BFOQ takes precedence where the employer is obligated with creating and keeping a certain image for their customers or clients. In their defense, the Patriots team can counter the case by claiming that there BFOQ in this matter demands that their cheerleading dance team must consist of females to be appealing for the needs of their fans. “Still it is proper to infer from the airline’s competitive successes that Southwest’s overall “love imagine” has enhanced its ability to attract passengers.”
However, the Patriots BFOQ claim is not conclusive enough since it lacks the grounds that were set in the landmark decision in Wilson v Southwest Airlines. Before the incident, the team was not in any way advertised or associated with the female cheerleading dance team should be consist of females alone. Patriots need to consider that their cheerleading dance team is not a business that is suppling a certain type of service. Like the court said in Wilson v Southwest that the airline was “not a business where vicarious sex entertainment is the primary service provided. Furthermore, sex or gender does not fall under the privileges of BFOQ.
The Patriots can have male on their team because the male will be able to do certain acrobatic flip that some of the females may unable to do. Also, the males will be able to take the equipment that they will be needed for the dance routine. Additionally, the Patriots has a mix fan base that is made up of both males and females. Therefore, they will need to take that into consideration instead of only looking at it from only one side.
