In-house Counsel
Associate general counsel is fired after ‘call ICE’ taunt at baseball game goes viral
A Milwaukee Brewers baseball fan is no longer employed as an associate general counsel after her “call ICE” taunt directed at a Los Angeles Dodgers fan went viral.
The staffing company ManpowerGroup said in a statement it placed Shannon Kobylarczyk, its now-former associate general counsel, on leave as soon as it learned of the video. After an investigation, she is “no longer with the organization,” the statement said.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Law.com, WISN, Above the Law and Yahoo News have coverage.
A lost job isn’t the only impact. Kobylarczyk resigned from the board at Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. And she and the Los Angeles Dodgers fan have been permanently banned from future events at the American Family Field in Milwaukee.
“The Brewers expect all persons attending games to be respectful of each other, and we do not condone in any way offensive statements fans make to each other about race, gender or national origin,” the team said in a statement.
The Los Angeles Dodgers fan, Ricardo Fosado, said he stood up and cheered during a game of the National League Championship Series after the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 3-1 lead. He recorded the reaction of Milwaukee Brewers fans while holding a spiked refresher.
“Real men drink beer, [expletive],” Kobylarczyk yelled at Fosado in the video. “You know what? Let’s call ICE,” she said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Fosado replied, “Call ICE, call ICE. I’m a U.S. citizen, war veteran, baby girl.”
Kobylarczyk then appeared to swat at the camera, and Fosado called her a “f- – -ing idiot.” He was ejected from the game; the Milwaukee Brewers cited “actions apart from the events depicted in this video, including disorderly conduct and public intoxication.”
The video was viewed more than 4 million times on social media, according to Law.com.
Fosado said he is a U.S. citizen and a military veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Kobylarczyk made a mistake, but “I don’t think it was like horrible or something that should get her fired. I feel bad for her.”
“We cannot be judged on one mistake, and a lot of emotions were involved. It was just hurt feelings, nobody physically hurt anybody,” Fosado said.
Workplace attorney Marjorie Mesidor of the Mesidor law firm says in a statement emailed to the ABA Journal the case “is a perfect example of the hard line employers are taking to rein in risks from viral videos.”
She notes that Wisconsin is an at-will state, which means that just cause is not required for firing.
“ManpowerGroup’s rapid response was a necessary move to protect its brand, corporate image and business relationships from being associated with such conduct,” she says.
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