By Romelo Wilson

On Saturday, Oct. 26, two Buffalo Wild Wings employees were fired for moving a group of black customers to a different table after a “regular” customer told the staff that he didn’t want to sit near them.

This blatant act of discrimination resulted in a lawsuit the establishment. The remaining employees now have to a sensitivity training, according to. The training focuses on having an “unconscious bias toward race and sexual orientation” 

The Buffalo Wild Wings is located in Naperville, Illinois which is a suburb right outside of Chicago. The Illinois Department of Human Rights is the operator behind the which prohibits discrimination regarding employment, housing, education, and public accommodation, such as the Buffalo Wild Wings.

 Justin Vahl, a victim of the act, amongst a group of other people that gathered at the restaurant for a child’s birthday, was shocked that he was asked to move because of the color of his skin in 2019. An event that started out as a celebration for a kid reaching another year of life, turned into a devastation the adults fully understood what was happening when the children who had their party interrupted.  

“We have a regular customer here who doesn’t want to sit around black people,” said the host of the restaurant, as mentioned in.

Earlier this year, in a Kansas location of the restaurant, managers made derogatory comments about black customers and allowed their employees to  poorly and simply to refuse to serve them.

 Buffalo Wild Wings adds to the list of well-known establishments, such as Starbucks, that had to undergo a diversity training following an incident of discrimination. It’s unfortunate that adults have to be taught how to not treat someone differently based on a characteristic that’s out of their control. This way of thinking is usually something taught when someone is much younger. 

 Of course, not all of the employees agreed with the act of their coworkers as some were “embarrassed” he managers didn’t apologize to the group or at least address the issue in a way that didn’t appear to put the blame on the families, according to the. The party refused the host’s request and continued to sit at the table. 

The spokesman of the company, Fuller, does not agree with the actions of the employees along with the “regular customer” that made the request to have the black families moved. Although the man is still unidentified, he’s been banned from all Buffalo Wild Wings stores. 

 Rightfully so, the Naperville location is being sued for an obvious violation of the state’s law. Even though the nation is becoming more tolerant compared to the past, there will always be individuals who have deeply rooted racism and hatred for others. 

 The customer is entitled to his opinion as U.S. citizens have freedom of speech, and though it might not be morally in agreement with others, he was allowed to say that he didn’t want to sit near the party. On the other hand, since Buffalo Wild Wings is a privately owned company, they also hold the right to ban people as they wish. 

 The issue is more connected to the employees that acted upon the customer’s bigotry by complying with his discriminatory request. As employees, they should have known that they’re not allowed to be prejudice towards an individual based on race, color, religion, sex, and others. 

 Although the diversity training that the location is requiring for all employees is a necessity, it also comes down to the hiring process and looking at who will truly represent the company in a way that doesn’t light on them. 

Romelo Wilson can be reached at Romelo.wilson@spartans.ut.edu