Fired Because of His Interracial Marriage

"if Rhinelander had used this girl as a concubine or prostitute, white America would have raised no word of protest ... when he legally and decently marries the girl ... hell breaks loose and literally tears the pair apart."- W.E. B. Dubois
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I got this article from blogger Siddity regarding the White coach who was fired because of his marriage to a Black woman.

JURY SHOULD HEAR COACH'S CLAIMS HE WAS FIRED FOR INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE: COURT
BY THOMAS ZAMBITODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, April 2nd 2008, 4:00 AM

Ex-Iona coach Craig Holcomb says he was axed over interracial marriage to Pamela Gauthier. Theodorakis/NewsA white former Iona College hoops coach scored big Tuesday in his two-year battle to prove he was fired because his wife is black.The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a jury should hear Craig Holcomb's claims that top-ranking officials at the Westchester school allowed racists to oust him from his job as top assistant to axed Iona basketball coach Jeff Ruland.The court said a lower-court judge was wrong to toss out Holcomb's discrimination claim and sent the case back to trial.In a first-of-its-kind decision, the court ruled that even though Holcomb is white, he still can make a claim that he was discriminated against because of his association with a black woman.Holcomb accused Iona Vice President and former Athletic Director Richard Petriccione of repeatedly using the N-word to refer to black players and of calling a Nigerian employee a "jungle bunny."In 2000, Holcomb says, he asked Petriccione if he'd received the invitation for his wedding to Pamela Gauthier, an African-American. According to Holcomb, Petriccione responded: "You're really going to marry that Aunt Jemima? You really are a n----r lover."Petriccione also drew a racially tinged comparison between his players and those at rival Fordham, Holcomb said."Everybody at Fordham thinks they have these good black kids and Iona has n-----s," Petriccione said, according to Holcomb's complaint.Petriccione has denied making the remarks.School officials say they were "extremely perplexed" by the court's decision and claim that Holcomb was fired for poor performance."Diversity is one of the tenets upon which Iona's foundation and history is built," the school said in a statement. "The college is firm in its resolve to vigorously defend itself in this case."Holcomb was fired in 2004 after refusing to resign and now teaches physical education at a Westchester high school."He's very happy to have his chance to have his day in court so that he can let the truth be told," said Holcomb's lawyer Jeffrey Udell.tzambito@nydailynews.comAnother source with some additional information:COURT: DISCRIMINATION LAW COVER WHITES WHO MARRY BLACKSBy Kenneth J. St. OngeApril 3, 2008Anti-discrimination laws extend workplace protections to employees who have personal relationships with those of another race, a federal court in New York has ruled.In a first of its kind decision, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that lower federal courts were wrong in ruling that a white basketball coach fired from Iona College was not discriminated against because of his marriage to a black woman.Former assistant coach Craig Holcomb, who was fired from the New Rochelle, N.Y. college in 2004, alleged in a lawsuit that the school fired him because he was married to a black woman.He was one of two assistant coaches – the other of whom was black – fired by the school. At the time he was fired, Holcomb was an assistant to Jeff Ruland, a white former NBA All Star and Iona Alumnus whose long-time girlfriend was a black woman and friend of Holcomb's wife.In court papers, Holcomb showed evidence that an athletic director and a vice president at the school – two of the five officials responsible for firing him – used racial epithets and took other discriminatory actions against African-Americans.Of central concern in the case was decision to ban Holcomb's wife, Ruland's girlfriend and high school recruits – most of whom were black – from alumni booster parties. Holcomb contended the move was part of a pattern of discrimination by school officials, one which ultimately cost him his job.The school, however, contended that the firing of Holcomb and another assistant was due to their job performance. It also said that it had wanted to fire Ruland – the highest-paid employee of the school – but felt it would be too costly given his contract.