If the details of this incident at all resemble what’s being claimed, Delta needs to issue an immediate apology, and hold the employees responsible for this accountable.
Delta forces veteran to change shirt at SFO
NBC Bay Area reports on an incident that reportedly happened on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, when Marine Corps vet Catherine Banks was booked on a Delta flight out of San Francisco (SFO). Specifically, she was told that her shirt was threatening, and that she needed to change. The shirt she was wearing had the following words on it:
Do not give in to the war within
End veteran suicide
The shirt is sold by Til Valhalla Project, which raises funds to help pay for therapy for struggling veterans. This is something she’s passionate about, and also encompasses the work she does for others.
According to Banks, shortly before the flight was due to depart, a Delta employee came up to her, and asked her to leave the aircraft. Here’s her version of events:
“A male flight attendant was saying, ‘Ma’am, ma’am.’ I looked around, like, ‘Who was he talking to?’ And it was me. He said, ‘You need to get off the plane,’ and I was like, ‘What did I do?'”
Once on the jet bridge, the conversation reportedly went like this:
“He said that shirt you’re wearing is threatening. I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m a Marine Corps vet. I’m going to see my Marine sister. I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 22 years and worked for the Air Force for 15 years. I’m going to visit her.’ He said, ‘I don’t care about your service, and I don’t care about her service. The only way you’re going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now.'”
Banks claims that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and had to turn around so that the Delta employee couldn’t see the front of her as she put on a sweatshirt. Once she changed, she was allowed to board again, but she was assigned a seat in the back of the plane, even though she had initially paid for an extra legroom seat.
So far, Delta has simply released the following statement:
Delta is seeking to make contact with the customer directly to hear more so we can begin to look into what occurred.
Below you can see an interview with Banks, where she shares her humiliating experience.
A couple of random things to note:
- Even if someone found her shirt to be offensive, I don’t understand why she couldn’t just put the sweatshirt on top of her shirt, rather than having to take it off, presumably while without a bra in the jet bridge
- The claim is that all of these interactions were with a male flight attendant, but I’d assume it was actually a customer service agent, since a flight attendant wouldn’t be allowed to leave the aircraft, given that flights are staffed to minimums; however, that’s an easy mistake to make
What’s being alleged is absolutely despicable
Most airlines have pretty vague dress codes. In the case of Delta, the airline states that it has the right to remove passengers from a plane “when the passenger’s conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”
There’s simply no reasonable person who would consider a shirt about helping veterans struggling with mental health issues to be inappropriate.
I have no reason to doubt this woman’s version of events, and she seems like a good person trying to help others. Still, I want to believe that this was some sort of a misunderstanding, or something, because I just can’t wrap my head around how any person could be so cruel.
I’m not sure what such a miscommunication could be, though? Could it be that the issue was her not wearing a bra, rather than the shirt as such? That wouldn’t make sense, as I don’t think anyone would describe a woman without a bra as “threatening,” but I’m trying to come up with any possible explanation here that’s even a little more reasonable (not that I think airlines should be enforcing whether people wear bras or not).
I hope Delta takes swift action to address this situation. That either needs to come in the form of addressing any misunderstanding here, or otherwise, issuing an apology and sharing the action being taken to prevent this in the future.
The sad thing is that as much as you want to think that stuff like this couldn’t happen, it does. Earlier this year, American kicked random Black men off a flight, simply because of the color of their skin. One Black passenger reportedly had body odor issues, but when they weren’t sure which passenger it was, staff made the decision to just kick all Black people off. This stuff really happens, and that’s why it’s important to raise awareness for these situations, so that companies can improve their training.
Bottom line
A Delta passenger claims she was forced to remove her shirt when an employee said it was threatening. The issue is that the shirt was for a good cause, about ending veteran suicide. The allegations here are awful, and hopefully Delta addresses this quickly, because no one should be treated this way.
What do you make of this Delta veteran shirt situation?
If you are in distress, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for more resources.
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