Are the Chicago Cubs Responsible For Fan Behavior?

Carl Nyberg has a really good article up on the recent racial taunts directed at Bradley. Bradley has played disappointingly, horridly if you take into account the three-year, $30 million contract. Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune) portrayed Bradley complaining unsympathetically. Bradley complains in general terms, but won’t give specifics. (The Chicago Tribune owns the Chicago Cubs, so Sullivan’s bosses are ultimately the same people who are failing to provide a work environment free of racial hostility for Bradley.) I’m not an attorney so I don’t have any idea what Bradley could legally do. Nyberg suggests that Bradley’s agent is not doing his job in the comments section. Bradley’s agent is failing Bradley on two counts. 1. He should get the Cubs to enforce their policies and fulfill their obligations under the law. 2. He should coach his client on doing a better job working the media. I don’t care so much about the 2nd point to be honest, but the 1st one is interesting. I found this article on BTF and one of the commenters added this: The poster doesn’t say what he refers to by “the law,” but it’d be interesting to see a Title VII hostile environment claim raised against a professional sports team (particularly where the source of the hostile environment is not fellow employees, but fans who use racial taunts)—I need to research whether any similar claims have been brought before. The Cub fan in me would hate to see it. The lawyer in me would find it all kinds of fascinating. That’s interesting at the very least. Another one adds a bit more. There’s absolutely case law on point which says that an employer can be liable under Title VII for creating a hostile work environment, based on the failure of the employer to control the behavior of customers. Whether it would apply in this case, of course, is a fact-specific question (and I’m not specifically familiar with seventh circuit law). Obviously there’s an issue of how much the Cubs can do. I’ll admit that I’d prefer this didn’t happen simply because it would ensure Bradley’s exit though that already may be ensured anyway. It would also be a mess. However, I would like to see this happen. If the Cubs aren’t going to hold those responsible for the racial taunts, then someone should force them to. If you can’t hold the dumbass who said it responsible, make the company that has ignored this behavior pay a big price for it. Milton Bradley most certainly did not agree to work in a hostile environment and the Cubs have allowed it. The Cubs have coached players in saying that these guys “buy tickets and can do what they want.” Jim Hendry, Crane Kenney and the Tribune have enabled this behavior by doing nothing about it. Milton Bradley doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him at Wrigley Field. He has no chance of changing their minds and the racist ***** will continue to taunt him because people ignore it. The Cubs front office does, the media does, the fans do and the players do. Bradley isn’t going to make any friends by doing this, but maybe the situation is better for the next black player who gets off to a terrible start.