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Brittney Griner and gender pay inequality: The saga continues
Gender Sports Pay
Inequality and Overseas
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McClaurin, PhD
It is fitting that I continue to talk about Brittney Griner as we move through Women’s History Month.
But for me, the saga continues and I am here to say to Brittney Griner, and to the world, unequivocally, that it ain’t over until it’s over, and, believe me—it ain’t over.
Let’s face the facts— Griner was playing in Russia every year for a decade simply because her WNBA pay as a top woman athlete was inadequate. She did NOT make a “livable wage” according to the standards of athletic pay scales. How shameful for the American sports industry that in the 21st Century, and after almost three decades of Title IX, gender pay inequality still presists.
Of course, interest rate risk leading to a drop in market value of a security is not a huge problem as long as the owner can hold onto it until maturity, at which point it can collect its original face value
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The Griner saga continues. In addition to becoming the poster child and advocate for bringing other U.S. prisoners home from Russia and overseas, Griner must now champion an even bigger battle on her homefront: the reality of gender pay inequality for women athletes in the WNBA and beyond.
Indeed, while Griner seems clearly happy to play for the Phoenix Mercury team at the quoted $165,000, which may be the best the team can do (https://www.foxnews. com/sports/mercury-postfirst-video-brittney-grineruniform-re-signing-wnba-star ), in my humble opinion, it is simply NOT GOOD
Attorney General Ellison launches civil investigation of Kia and Hyundai
Minnesota Attorney General
Keith Ellison announced this week that he has launched a civil investigation into Kia and Hyundai’s sale of vehicles to Minnesota consumers that lacked industry-standard, antitheft technology. As part of this investigation, earlier today, the Attorney General’s Office served civil investigative demands on Kia and Hyundai, which require them to produce documents and answer questions under oath.
The purpose of the investigation is to gather information to determine whether Kia and Hyundai—through their actions or inactions—have violated Minnesota’s consumer protection and public nuisance laws.
“The drastic increase in Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts is continuing to threaten public safety and do serious harm to our communities,”
Ellison said Tuesday afternoon during a press conference.
“With this investigation, we will follow where the facts lead us and will continue to use all the tools of the law to help keep Minnesotans safe.”
Until recently, Kia and Hyundai did not include anti-theft “engine-immobilizer” technology in many of their vehicles sold throughout the United States, including in Minnesota. An engine immobilizer prevents a vehicle’s engine from starting without using the vehicle’s authorized “smart” key that stores an electronic security code. By failing to equip their vehicles with this anti-theft technology, Kia and Hyundai lagged behind industry standards. According to one report, in 2015, only 26% of the vehicles Kia and Hyundai sold in the United States were equipped with engine immobilizer technology. In comparison, 96% of the vehicles sold by all other competitors were equipped with this anti-theft technology. Criminals and car thieves have learned about the lack of anti-theft technology in many of Kia and Hyundai’s vehicles, as well as the quick and simple way the vehicles’ ignition cylinder can be exploited, and the ignition switch started. This has led to a drastic increase of Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts throughout the nation, including in Minnesota. Reported thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in 2022 increased by 836% in
Minneapolis, and 611% in St. Paul from 2021 rates. Some vehicles have even been stolen multiple times in the same year. These stolen vehicles have been used in the furtherance of violent crimes in Minnesota and have been involved in numerous traffic collisions, some of which have been fatal. In Minneapolis alone, in 2022, Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts were tied to:
Five homicides;
13 shootings;
36 robberies; and photo/Steve Karnowski Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks at a news conference at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Monday,
265 motor vehicle accidents. These public safety incidents that have caused substantial and serious harm to communities across the state.
In December 2022, a 14-yearold boy lost his life after getting into a single-vehicle crash that involved a stolen Kia.
The announcement follows a letter from Ellison and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pressing Kia and Hyundai for an immediate safety recall to stem the rise of thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. These thefts are posing an increasing harm to public safety.
Generally, the Attorney General’s Office does not announce or talk publicly about its civil investigations. But this matter directly impacts the public safety of Minnesota’s communities, and the law permits the Attorney General’s Office to promote public safety by informing the public of this investigation.
Minnesota consumers who wish to report concerns about the theft or risk of theft of their Kia or Hyundai vehicles to submit a complaint online photo/Angela Peterson call the
Vincent Carlo DeLusia: Educator, mentor
Vincent Carlo DeLusia, 79, Minneapolis, an educator and mentor, was a teacher by heart and storyteller by nature. He died peacefully on January 5, 2023. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lenore and Frederico, and sister, Lenore. His mother, a nurse, instilled the value of education, the principles of health and safety, and the recognition of quality in a well-constructed garment. His Trinidadian father, a former merchant marine, nurtured a global perspective, learning, appreciation of diversity, and the people-skills of entrepreneurial negotiations.
DeLusia learned storytelling and humor from his elders, sitting on the front porches and stoops of his Morris Park neighborhood in the Bronx with its diversity of Italian, Jewish, Irish, and African American families. He contracted polio in childhood during the 1948-1952 epidemic and worked hard throughout the rest of his life to maintain his fitness.
He graduated from
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Cardinal Hayes High School for Young Men (as did Regis Philbin, George Carlin, and Martin Scorsese), where he excelled and became a lifelong learner and responsible citizen.
During the 1960’s, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University and two Master degrees from Columbia University, including an MBA; attended the renowned March on Washington, made famous for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech; as well as many civil rights meetings with historical figures most of us only read about. All of this made DeLusia part of the world history he continued to study and teach throughout his lifetime.
In 1973, Minneapolis community leader, Theartrice (T) Williams, connected through a friend, encouraged DeLusia to make a move to Minneapolis with his MBA degree. He braved the westward journey from New York and started his career at General Mills and then International Multifoods.
Within a few years he left the business world to work at
