ATLANTA — He makes a living with his skateboard and his brand, but this month Justin Mallory said that’s exactly what got him in trouble.
Mallory told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon he was kicked off a flight out of Atlanta because of his business logo on his shirt which features guns.
“I was flabbergasted. I was taken aback,” Mallory said.
The professional skateboarder said he was kicked off a Frontier Airlines flight because of the logo.
“The shirt is just a graphic,” Mallory told Wilfon.
He said the airline said the shirt made another passenger uncomfortable.
Mallory’s lawyer, Mawuli Davis, calls it discrimination.
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“The shirt, some would say he’s dressed in a hip-hop fashion, and he’s African-American. Those three things may have all contributed to the discrimination and profiling against him,” Davis said.
Frontier Airlines tells a much different story.
In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, the airline indicated Mallory’s shirt and race had nothing to do with it.
Frontier said Mallory “became argumentative prior to boarding when asked to check a skateboard. The passenger boarded the aircraft and continued to exhibit disruptive behavior.”
“That’s totally false,” Mallory told Wilfon.
Because he was kicked off the flight, Mallory said he missed a skateboarding trade show where he planned to promote his brand.
Instead, he said it got him in trouble.
“It was a terrible situation. It was embarrassing. I don’t want to see it happen to anyone else. I wouldn’t wish it on someone,” Mallory said.
Mallory and his lawyer told Wilfon they are considering a lawsuit.
Cox Media Group
