Two award-winning
amateur gay figure skaters have settled their suit
against a Berkeley, Calif., ice rink company that
discriminated against them. John Manzon-Santos and
Alan Lessik reached an agreement Wednesday with
East Bay Iceland, which will publicly apologize for
preventing the two men from skating together earlier this
year while training for this summer's Gay Games.
The agreement also requires East Bay Iceland
employees to undergo diversity training and
prominently display signs that include the statement
"[Iceland] undertakes continual efforts to open the world
of skating to individuals in an environment free from
intimidation, harassment, or bias." Manzon-Santos and
Lessik were stopped from skating at the Berkeley
Iceland rink, one of three that East Bay operates.
Berkeley Iceland will now offer a monthly Gay/Straight Skate
Night and weekly "pairs preferred" skating sessions, which
the two men will receive free admission to for a year.
"East Bay Iceland is a model partner," said
Karen Doering, senior counsel with the National Center
for Lesbian Rights, which represented the pair with
counsel from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati. "They
seriously listened to our concerns, recognized
discrimination is damaging, and are taking every step
to ensure discrimination does not happen at their
establishments, including educating all of their
employees with diversity trainings."
Both the Berkeley Municipal Code and
California's Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibit
discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of
sexual orientation. Manzon-Santos and Lessik have won
medals at previous Gay Games and will be skating in
the pairs competition this summer in Chicago. (
The
Advocate
)
