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.
In this post:
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.
I am a frequent Delta customer, and as of this moment, they’ve lost my loyalty and business. I will be spreading this story to friends and family and encourage them to boycott Delta as well. That employee needs to be fired.
Surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned by Lucky or anyone else, but it seems likely to me that the FA read the text on the shirt in the context of Trump’s recent comments on “the enemy within”. This clearly would result in a misinterpretation. With that in mind, this situation makes a whole lot more sense.
Not sure I agree. Trump’s comments are heard by a tiny segment of the population and they aren’t anywhere near SFO.
Just bought the offensive t-shirt. I'll be wearing it when I fly Delta in a few weeks. Would love to see this become a thing.
anticipating a very calm comments section
I can’t help but think that the “not wearing a bra” aspect of this story has something to do with what transpired, but I have a hard time imagining some proud male FA freaking out about cleavage. (I wouldn’t think a straight male FA would make a big deal out of it either unless he was projecting some weird sexual desire into the situation.)
I’m pretty sure Ed will say this is Microsoft’s fault, and he’s suing.
Way more to this story than what is written. But for future reference, don't wear clothing that can be controversial on an airplane. Super sensitive environment we live in rn.
Anything involving rights, war, immigration, politics or gender is just asking for a problem. Don't ask me why, but it's just the way it is.
How is an anti suicide message controversial though? 99.9 percent of people are okay with that.
I agree with you. But the current climate, super sensitive.
I bet you're the type of person who finds a peace sign controversial.
There’s more to this story than what is written. 1: Why would the woman take off a shirt in the JetWay only to put a sweat shirt on instead? Why not just put the sweat shirt on OVER the “offending” T-shirt? 2: The passenger was scanned aboard the aircraft but then deplaned to the JetWay until she complied but she never left the JetWay. So how/why would the gate agent “un-board” the passenger? Where was...
There’s more to this story than what is written. 1: Why would the woman take off a shirt in the JetWay only to put a sweat shirt on instead? Why not just put the sweat shirt on OVER the “offending” T-shirt? 2: The passenger was scanned aboard the aircraft but then deplaned to the JetWay until she complied but she never left the JetWay. So how/why would the gate agent “un-board” the passenger? Where was a “Redcoat” during this event? That is part of the required protocol for passenger removal. It doesn’t make sense. I find it odd that the passenger’s paid for seat was given away. If that is the case, then that passenger should be refunded the difference in fare OR be generous and refund the entire ticket cost and post the mileage to the frequent flyer account. As a Vietnam era USAF Veteran, IF the flight attendant was as rude as reported, then Delta should do something about that behavior. As “Judge Judy” would say, “If it doesn’t make sense, then it’s most likely not true.”
To your first point, if an FA or GA has this much of an enforcement mentality, they are probably thinking that if pax puts on a sweatshirt over the offending shirt pax might just take the sweatshirt off once they’re back on the plane. It sounds ridiculous but so does this whole situation based on what’s being reported.
A nice win-win way DL could handle this is by donating a large sum to the Til Valhalla Project. It would allow them to do some good without necessarily admitting fault, and I'm sure Ms. Banks would accept it as an apology.
For a moment there, I thought I was reading Jerry Springer's blog
The flight attendant asked ( according to the narrative), the shirt be removed right away in order to continue on with the flight. She complied. The foolish flight attendant was instigator of a outrageous scene and Delta needs to own it.
The only way this makes any sense is if the employee had piss poor reading comprehension, read the shirt wrong, and then wouldn't back down.
I think this is most likely, or that any mention of suicide on a shirt would be a problem.
I suspect this is it. DL needs to own this and pay up.
That would be very consistent with the lack of education for most Americans and the lack of mental development in most Americans beyond the stage of adolescence, so I think your scenario is very plausible.
The USA has long had a large anti-intellectualism movement and since school children are considered more useful for target practice than as potential future skilled production engines for the national economy, childish stupidity like this is the result. America...
That would be very consistent with the lack of education for most Americans and the lack of mental development in most Americans beyond the stage of adolescence, so I think your scenario is very plausible.
The USA has long had a large anti-intellectualism movement and since school children are considered more useful for target practice than as potential future skilled production engines for the national economy, childish stupidity like this is the result. America really needs to get its shit together and invest in its future.
Agree 100% with your comment. Unfortunately, I think the FA didn’t do this because he was a bad person. He is simply ignorant. That’s unfortunately what Americans schools are creating, indoctrinated people that are absolutely clueless and he simply assumed the message in the shirt was bad without even understanding it.
Um, what exactly are American schools creating? Indoctrinated in what way?
America has plenty of issues, but there is also a trend of non-Americans' trite attempts to extrapolate minor isolated incidents into proof that America is a sh*thole country.