A former NFL player is calling out his daughter’s employer after she was sent home due to her hair.
Andrew Pinnock was teary-eyed while standing next to members of the NAACP who spoke out against how his 18-year-old daughter, Dior, was treated at her first job at a ShopRite located in Enfield, Connecticut, according to local news. Pinnock, who played fullback for the San Diego Chargers from 2003 to 2007, is demanding an apology and considering legal action.
“She came to work to do her job, and then ShopRite tells her that she must leave based on her hair,” CT NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said on Wednesday. “That should not be tolerated. Not here in Enfield and nowhere across America.”
A photo obtained by NBC Connecticut shows Dior’s hair in a braided hairstyle with red streaks. She worked for the supermarket for about two months, taking care of online orders, and was never confronted about her hair, as WTNH reported. Dior received pushback on Tuesday, a move that advocates say is concerning. Pinnock became emotional recalling his daughter’s experience.
“I’m trying to explain to her: ‘That’s not right,'” he explained. “There’s some things you can let go but you can’t let this slide.”
The NAACP said the management’s decision goes against state legislation dubbed “An Act Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” signed into law in 2021.’
“This discriminatory action by the management at Shop Rite is unacceptable and goes against the Crown Act recently signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont,” the NAACP said in a statement.
The law bars discrimination at work or in any place of public accommodation “based on hairstyles commonly associated with people of color,” the organization added.
A representative for ShopRite released a statement saying that the company is dedicated to an inclusive culture, adding that protective hairstyles protected by the CROWN Act, such as braids, locs and twists, do not violate the store’s policies.
The Connecticut House Bill 6515 signed into law by Gov, Lamont says the law bans discrimination “based on a person’s hair texture and protective hairstyle in employment” and adds that “‘protective hairstyles’ include such things as wigs, headwraps, and hairstyles such as individual braids, cornrows, locs, twists, Bantu knots, afros, and afro puffs.”
“These hairstyles do not violate the ShopRite of Enfield’s dress code policy, and we do not believe that the law was violated,” ShopRite said in a statement. “ShopRite of Enfield is committed to policies and practices that provide a full and fair opportunity for employment and career advancement, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic which our laws protect.”
The NAACP organization is planning to hold a rally to protest how Dior was treated.
