A Mississippi man is out of a job amid fallout over a viral photo of him wearing a racially offensive T-shirt to the voting polls on Tuesday.
In a statement, Regional One Health in Memphis confirmed the man, identified as Clayton Hickey, was no longer employed at the hospital following a thorough investigation.
“As of today, November 8, 2018, we’ve completed our investigation and what we learned led to the termination of the employee in question,” the hospital said of the registered nurse Thursday. “Regional One Health holds employees to a high standard. We are committed to upholding our mission to provide compassionate care and exceptional services to all. This includes fostering a safe and protected work and care environment for all.”
“Behaviors contrary to these principles are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” it added, noting that it was taking the matter very seriously.
Outrage ensued when Hickey arrived to a polling site in the northern Mississippi town of Olive Branch wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a Confederate flag and a noose hanging from the top with the words “Mississippi Justice.” A fellow voter snapped the photo and shared it on social media, where it was widely circulated.
Outraged critics argued the shirt could be interpreted as voter intimidation, or even hate speech. Mississippi officials said Hickey broke no laws, however, as the only clothes voters are banned from wearing to the polls are those that show a candidates name or face.
“Satute does not stipulate a dress code for voters inside polling places,” the Secretary of State’s office said Wednesday. “This office, however, does not condone the propagation of violent or offensive messages of any nature during the voting process.”
Hickey was initially thought to be one of the poll workers, but elections officials quickly denied that.
One of Hickey’s neighbor’s, who asked to remain unnamed, told News Channel 3 he doesn’t know the man very well but doesn’t believe he’s a racist.
“He’s nice as far as I have seen,” the neighbor said. “He came out and helped me do some stuff. I don’t think he’s wanting to start trouble. He gets caught in a lot of trouble.”
The man was referencing an incident in 2010 when Hickey was forced to resign from the Memphis Police Department after he was caught in his car with a 17-year-old girl and an open container of booze, according to the station.
“He just gets caught in all the wrong situations,” the neighbor said, adding it was “hard for me to say” whether Hickey’s shirt was racist or not.
Watch more in the clip below.
https://wreg.com/2018/11/08/hospital-investigating-employee-who-wore-controversial-shirt-to-mississippi-poll/