Tom Burlington Sues Fox29

Award-winning TV reporter Tom Burlington, who is white, is claiming that racism is the basis of Philadelphia’s Fox 29 failure to renew his contract in 2007.

And the lawsuit that he filed in 2009 has been finally green-lighted to go to trial.  U.S. District Judge Barclay Surrick wrote a memorandum last month This case has been pending for over five years. We will not further delay its resolution by permitting “piecemeal review and its attendant delays and waste of time.”

What Burlington says happened is that during a June 23, 2007 discussion about a possible story regarding a mock funeral of the word “nigger” by the Philadelphia Youth Council of the NAACP, Burlington said “nigger.”

Burlington was to co-anchor the show that night with Joyce Evans, who did not attend the meeting. It came back to Ms. Evans, who is black, what he said. She made a complaint the next day to the station’s Assistant News Director, Leslie Tyler, who is also black.

Joyce Evans Tom Burlington Sues Fox29
We kind of doubt that Joyce Evans understands what it’s like to be called a “nigger” at least by a white person.

Burlington claims that Ms. Evans told him “Because you’re white you can never understand what it’s like to be called a nigger and … you cannot use the word nigger”

Burlington says Ms. Evans then encouraged fellow employees to denounce him to management.

He said he was forced to meet with the station’s Department of Human Resources, Ameena Ali, who is black. She asked him to give his side of the story. He did verbatim. “Tom, you’re still saying that word; why are you doing that?” said said according to court papers.

Burlington was suspended.

Tom Burlington Sues Fox29
We have no doubt that Tom Burlinton understands what Franz Kafka was getting at when he wrote The Trial.

Burlington says he apologized to the station’s black employees, was given a stern warning in writing, and made to undergo racial-sensitivity training.

It wasn’t enough. The station told Burlington on July 12, 2007, after 20 years his contract would not be renewed.

Ms. Evans remains the anchor of the weekend “Fox 29 News at Six.”

Hopefully, Burlington takes these gutless fools and bigots for everything they have. While it is sign of immaturity and low intelligence to be pointlessly offensive — which Tom Burlington by all accounts  wasn’t — it is a sign of evil to be merciless.

Speech codes and political correctness have no place in true journalism, which the establishment media has long since stopped practicing.  It is time to start destroying them. Speech codes and political correctness, that is. The old media is doing just a fine job destroying itself. Enjoy your vacation Brian Williams. What are the odds comedian Jon Stewart replaces him?

Tom Burlington Sues Fox29

2 thoughts on “Tom Burlington Sues Fox29”

  1. When I was growing up I was taught by my parents to treat everyone the same and in our house hold the word nigger was NEVER said by mom and dad. Shamefully, I see more and more reverse discrimination and quite frankly find it just as disgusting as the word nigger. With that said, I look to the future that my 2 children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. If you are black and don’t know who I am paraphrasing there then you are an idiot.

  2. Tom,
    Can’t wait for your return to FOX 29 at 10pm—time for
    Ian and Lucy to go. I also want to see ON- AIR Ms joyce evans
    give you a heartfelt apology for what she has put you and your family thru over all these years . One race has no right to own
    any word, Yesterday i could of took a lot of people to court for
    calling me a PADDY or a MICK—-did ms evans know that in
    Ireland that these are racist terms applied to the Irish. Do you
    see anyone Irish attending these news meetings and making
    a federal case —- time to move on ms joyce.

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