When Stel Kline was dismissed from South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB), the news came shortly after were told they had nothing to improve upon. So, why did the station leave the former Morning Edition host without a job? According to Kline, higher-ups believed Kline was “not objective” and had problems with authority.
It all started with Kline’s public hiring announcement, which SDPB Programming and Communication Director Fritz Miller apparently had trouble accepting. Kline is transgender and uses “they/them” pronouns.
Miller allegedly took issue with using Kline’s pronouns and only wanted to use their last name, citing a host of absurd excuses. Miller claimed would confuse older readers, even though multiple guides exist on proper pronoun usage—to the point that there’s even one specific to those addressing older folks. Miller also argued that using their proper pronouns would make Kline a target of harassment, and that readers could make it an “issue du jour.”
The latter excuse is textbook victim-blaming and entirely unsupportive, while the former certainly says a lot about what Miller and others think about their audience. And how they feel about Kline, who is fighting back against their dismissal with a wrongful termination appeal.
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Kline detailed in a Twitter thread following their firing some of what went wrong at the station, and how those in power failed to support them.
Kline has many, many reasons to bring this appeal forward and stands a good chance of winning. By my reading, it’s explicit that their gender identity played a role in their firing, which is illegal at both state and federal levels. It’s clear SDPB used transphobia as an excuse to make personal attacks on Kline’s character, with the station’s director of journalism content at one point even alleging that they lost credibility, and additionally suggesting that Kline was not objective because they had been verbally harassed. The atrocious behavior of others should not be an indictment of someone who, by all accounts, was excelling at their job in the face of blatant discrimination.
According to Current, Kline has already sent an appeal letter to SDPB, the state Bureau of Information, and the state’s institution administrator. SDPB Executive Director Julie Overgaard has already responded; the heads of the other two agencies have two weeks from the day they received Kline’s letter to respond. In addition to filing a wrongful termination appeal, Kline has multiple avenues to resolve this case of transphobic retaliation from SDPB. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, Kline can also file a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as long as it’s filed within 180 days of the last incident occurring. They may even be able to file a federal lawsuit if the EEOC issues a right-to-sue letter.