In Philadelphia, a mass case taken up against the National Football League (NFL) has sparked a mass discussion. A huge number of retired Black professional football players, alongside their families and supporters, have demanded an end to what is known as “race-norming”. The use of “race-norming” to determine eligibility for player payouts in the $1bn settlement fund for NFL brain injury claims has become a major controversy within the discussion.

Experts believe that the use of “race-norming” is a discriminatory practice. Indeed, Ken Jenkins, a former Washington running back, delivered some 50,000 petitions alongside his wife, Amy Lewis. These petitions demand the fair and equal treatment of black professionals. The petitions were handed to U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody in Philadelphia. Brody is the official overseeing the settlement case. Former players who have suffered from dementia and/or other diagnoses are eligible for a payout from the $1bn fund.

However, the NFL uses a scoring system on dementia testing that assumes black athletes start with lower cognitive skills than others. Therefore, they need to reach a lower score than white counterparts to obtain their ability to gain funding and support. The practice had been used for years unnoticed until it was first spotted in 2018.

Jenkins said about the discovery that “It’s the same old nonsense for Black folks, to have to deal with some insidious, convoluted deals that are being made.”

Though Jenkins, an insurance executive after retirement, does not experience any cognitive issues, he knows various NFL friends and colleagues who do.

Brody previously threw out a civil rights lawsuit that claimed the practice was discriminatory. However, she asked a magistrate to begin compiling reports on the problem, with no completion date provided.

Combating for an end to race-norming

Chris Seegar, Class Counsel, is now fighting to bring an end to the concept of “race-norming” and intends to any investigate any awards which were impacted this adjustment in the past. Seegar, through a spokesman, said: “We are investigating whether any claims have been impacted by a physician’s decision to apply such an adjustment. If we discover an adjustment has been inappropriately applied, I will fight for the rights of Black players to have those claims rescored,”

With a majority of the 20,000 NFL retirees being black, only one quarter of those who have sought awards for dementia have been provide with qualification under current testing. Lawyers have asked for extra details on how the $800m in payments made so far is broken down along racial lines, with no information provided as of yet.

While “race-norming” has been used in other fields in the medical industry, the NFL has been accused of using a simplistic and restrictive system that, others argue, is discriminatory towards black players.

Citation

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31444676/nfl-families-seek-end-race-norming-1b-settlement-brain-injury-claims

At Bailey’s Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia three educators are alleging racial and gender discrimination against their principal.

According to the Washington Post, “Filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, the lawsuit claims that Rachel Charlton, Yolanda Calhoun and Shyrone Stith faced racial and gender discrimination while working with Principal Marie Lemmon, who joined Bailey’s in 2012. Charlton alleges that Lemmon discriminated against her during and after her pregnancy — insulting her for breast-feeding, forcing her to work while on bed rest and limiting her opportunities — and Calhoun and Stith say that the principal treated them unfairly because they are black.

“Bailey’s, located near Falls Church, is the county’s largest elementary. Many of its nearly 1,400 students qualify for training in English as a second language and free or reduced-price meals, a measure of poverty. It receives federal Title I funding because of its high poverty rate.”

Former University of Minnesota golf coach Katie Brenny has won a sexual discrimination lawsuit to the tune of $359,000 by a Minneapolis judge. This amount was the maximum allowed by law.

According to Golf Week, “More than three years after Katie Brenny filed a sexual-discrimination lawsuit against the University of Minnesota, the former women’s golf coach emerged victorious.

“Brenny, who alleged that the school fired her after learning she is a lesbian, has been awarded a maximum $359,000 by a Minneapolis judge, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. After the ruling Tuesday in a trial that began four months ago in Hennepin County District Court, Brenny’s attorney Don Mark expressed relief for his client.”

On the coattails of the New York State decision to allow same sex marriages, the Garden State, New Jersey has been hit will a lawsuit asking for the same rights. The lawsuit claims the state is engaging in discrimination because of sexual orientation.

The state of New Jersey does allow for civil unions, which in theory offers the same rights as marriage. The activists bringing forth the lawsuit, Garden State Equality, says in practice the rights are not the same.

According to NJ.com, “But plaintiffs said the legal rights are only equal only in theory. They offered stories about trying to visit their partners in hospitals or make medical decisions for them, but being initially denied by staff who did not understand what a civil union was.

“Daniel Weiss, for instance, had to show doctors his civil union ring to show that he could make medical decisions for his long-time partner, John Grant, after Grant was struck by a car and his skull shattered in Manhattan. Despite explaining it to attending doctors, the hospital called Grant’s sister up from Delaware – four hours away – to make medical decisions for him.”

The New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vowed to veto any same sex marriage legislation that crosses his desk, so the advocacy group decided that bringing a lawsuit through the courts was the most reasonable course of action.

Napa Valley, California is also called “wine country” because of the number of vineyards and wineries in that location. Tourism brings in a lot of money from upscale wine connoisseurs and weekend wine tasters.

But, in the midst of this flowing wine and money, some people with disabilities haven’t been given a fair shake when it comes to housing. The 1991 Americans with Disabilities Act states simply that people in wheelchairs must have access to buildings.

One of the largest apartment developers in the U. S. with over 12,000 apartments, A.G. Spanos Companies settled the lawsuit. Some of the apartment units mentioned in the lawsuit reside in the city of Napa, California.

A.G. Spanos has agreed to spend $7.4 million to remodel apartment units nationally and $4.2 million into the National Fair Housing Alliance so that people with disabilities outside of the Spanos properties can make necessary modifications.

It is usually the architects and builders who are relied upon to bring the units up to Federal Fair Housing code and in this case it was found their was no willful disregard to do so. The settlement will also mean that the Fair Housing Napa Valley will get an extra $50,000 to make grants for people with disabilities within the county.