I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
It's been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
-Sam Cooke
On Wednesday, we all woke up to the termination of Matt Lauer
by NBC for alleged sexual misconduct. Like many, I was shocked, shocked. Next, I was
uncomfortable watching Savannah Guthrie visibly struggle to share the news of
her partner’s departure. Finally, I was impressed by the statement prepared by
the Chairman of NBC. Although we can speculate at the motivation, I think that
his statement was very courageous. Below is the full statement.
Dear
Colleagues,
On Monday night, we received a detailed
complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace
by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our
company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment.
While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years
he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may
not have been an isolated incident.
Our highest priority is to create a
workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure
that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences,
no matter who the offender.
We are deeply saddened by this turn of
events. But we will face it together as a news organization — and do it in as
transparent a manner as we can. To that end, Noah and I will be meeting with as
many of you as possible throughout the day today to answer your questions.
Andy
NBC's Decision Makes Me Believe that a Change is Coming...
Here’s why I was impressed. With this
statement NBC declared publicly that Matt was being terminated because his
behavior ran counter to the “core values” that NBC holds dear. In so doing they
declared that their expectations of appropriate behavior were higher than
possibly were required by law or regulation and that acting appropriately was
about more than compliance. Indeed, NBC publicly said that it wants its leaders
to “do the right thing” and it supported that statement by firing its golden
boy, proven rainmaker, and face of the station.
I began my career as an attorney
as an employment lawyer. Before that, I had an internship in Human Resources.
My experience in this field helps me to appreciate the boldness of this
statement and decision. It’s possible that Matt's alleged behavior was so
egregious that NBC felt it had no choice but to act. However, I think the
decision indicates more than that. Like my mother, Cecilia Griffin Golden, said, if we want real change,
the structures that support the abhorrent behavior must change and the only way that will happen is to shake them to their cores. It sounds like
the chairman of NBC might be initiating that kind of change.
While I am not gloating about Matt’s
termination, as a mom, I am encouraged by the message communicated by NBC and
what it might mean for my daughter. You
see, it has been over fifty years since
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was
passed into law, which made it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of gender
(that prohibition covers sexual harassment as well). However, despite such
behavior being unlawful, in this year alone, the headlines have been flooded
with complaints of women who allege sexual harassment declaring “#MeToo”. Hopefully NBC’s action will motivate other institutions to do a self-assessment and make decisions that consistent with our shared values of Dignity and Respect. And when my daughter enters the workforce such behavior will simply
be a matter of history...
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