US Airways Dress Code: Is Race A Factor?

By Black Men In America.com Staff

You remember we wrote about University of New Mexico football player Deshon Marman who was removed from a US Airways flight last week for wearing sagging sweatpants that exposed his underwear. Well US Airways has acknowledged that less than a week before having Marman arrested for refusing to pull his pants up, the airline allowed a man known as “Howard the Cross-Dresser” wearing women’s underwear, black thigh-high stockings and heels to fly.

This raises the question of a blatant double standard.  Was race a factor in the removal of Marman who is black?  The man in women’s underwear who was allowed to fly, even after passengers complained is white.  When asked why Marman was kicked off the plane and the man in women’s underwear was allowed to fly, US Airways spokesperson Valerie Wunder did not offer a comment on the Marman incident, but did say US Airways employees had been correct to let the man in women’s panties fly in spite of numerous passenger complaints.  Wunder said:  “We don’t have a dress code policy for passengers.  Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that’s not appropriate.  So, if they’re not exposing their private parts, they’re allowed to fly.” 

Wunder, when shown a picture of the Howard the Cross-Dresser said:  “He wasn’t exposing his private parts. Therefore employees had been correct in not asking the man to cover himself.”

Let’s get real.  US Airways has a public relations problem.  A Black man with sagging pants is removed from the plane for refusing to follow a crew member’s orders to pull his pants up.  A white man is wearing women’s underwear and high heels is allowed to fly despite passenger complaints.  The question of whether race is a factor is legitimate.

Marman’s removal from the plane appears to be the result of an overzealous pilot.  At first glance it would appear that the cross-dressing man was revealing far more skin and presenting more visual distractions than a pair of sagging pants.  Neither man exposed private parts.

Passengers complained about the man in women’s underwear, yet there was no incident.  US Airways is sticking by its decision to kick Marman off the plane and let the cross-dressing passenger fly.

U.S. Airways has not commented on the June 15th arrest of Deshon Marman.  San Francisco Police say only Marman’s boxer shorts were shown.  Marman’s lawyer says security footage will prove that his client did not show any skin.  “A white man is allowed to fly in underwear without question, but my client was asked to pull up his pajama pants because they hung below his waist”, said Marman’s attorney Joe O’Sullivan.

Click here to read our post on the removal of Marman for his sagging pants.

What do you think is going on with US Airways and their dress code or lack thereof?