Southwest Airlines Criticized for Biracial Misstep

Southwest Airlines is being criticized for asking the mother of a biracial child to prove that the child was indeed hers.

The mother, Lindsay Gottlieb, a well-known basketball coach at the University of California, Berkeley, posted a series of tweets about the incident, expressing anger surrounding the treatment her family received.

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“I’m appalled that after approx 50 times flying with my 1-year-old son, ticket counter personnel told me I had to ‘prove’ that he was my son, despite having his passport,” Gottlieb, 40, tweeted Monday. “She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he has a different skin color.”

Gottlieb is white. Her husband whom she was traveling with, is black. The family was seeking to board a Southwest plane from Denver, Colorado to Oakland, California when the incident occurred, according to Yahoo.

The Southwest Airlines employee asked Gottlieb to clarify her relationship to the child she was traveling with (Gottlieb’s son Jordan).

“She 1st asked for proof with birth certificate,” Gottlieb tweeted. “She then said it’s a “federal law” (not true) but asked me to prove I’m mother with Facebook post. What??”

Gotlieb’s series of tweets elicited a variety of responses. Some Twitter users, including model Chrissy Teigen, who also has biracial children with husband John Legend, came to the airline’s defense.

“Airlines have asked this of me, too, with my daughter. Once I learned it’s a precaution for the very real threat of child trafficking, I stopped being exasperated with it. Now I’m kind of worried when they don’t ask” Teigen tweeted.

Gottlieb later provided a statement to Yahoo detailing her feelings about the incident, which she called hurtful.

“I felt that in this situation, it was my responsibility to say ‘Hey, this isn’t OK.’ We had a passport that verified our son’s age and identity, and both parents were present.”

Gottlieb’s statement to Yahoo added: “But still being pushed further to ‘prove’ that he was my son felt disrespectful and motivated by more than just concern for his well-being. … While it was upsetting and emotional, I realize that this was just one day of my life where I was uncomfortable and our family was made to feel “less than,” whereas others face similar situations on a daily basis. I hope the coverage this has received can serve as a learning opportunity and that all families — regardless of how ‘traditional’ they may or may not look — are treated with dignity and respect.”

For its part, Southwest Airlines told Yahoo that it intends to use the situation as a coaching opportunity for the employee.

“We apologize if our interaction made this family uncomfortable — that is never our intention. … When traveling domestically, FAA regulations require airlines to verify a lap child is under the age of 2 by reviewing a birth certificate or government-issued identification,” the airline said. “Although some international travel requires additional paperwork for leaving the country with a minor, domestic travel does not require airlines to match the last name of a child and guardian.”