The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has been forced to issue an apology after it told a 90-year-old volunteer she was fired because she violated diversity guidelines by not understanding pronouns.
As we reported last week, Fran Itkoff was fired despite previously winning multiple awards from the nonprofit group.
While the nonprofit recognized the Woman’s dedication to the MS Society, the group forced her to step down after she dared to ask what pronouns meant.
Itkoff didn’t even understand what she was being asked to provide, and simply asked what was meant by pronouns.
The MS Society then d tripled down on the decision in subsequent statements.
However, due to the massive backlash, the organization has issued an apology.
In a statement, the society said sorry to our “longtime, dedicated volunteer Fran Itkoff.”
“We realize now that we made a mistake, and we should have had more conversations with Fran before making this decision.”
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“While we acted at the time with the best intentions, we did not have clear protocols in place,” the statement continues.
“We should have spent more time with Fran to help her understand why, as an organization, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive movement where everyone has equitable access to the care, connections, and support they need to live their best lives.”
“We apologized to Fran directly and reached out to her to find a way to continue to work together,” the statement further noted.
“In the spirit of continuous learning, we are focused on evaluating our processes and fortifying our learning to ensure our team members are equipped on the best ways to implement all of our policies.”
Libs of TikTok responded to the statement on X:
BREAKING: National Ms Society just released a statement backtracking on the entire story saying they were WRONG and APOLOGIZE to the 90-year-old volunteer who they forced to step down over pronouns.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 21, 2024
“We realize now that we made a mistake.” “As an organization, we fell short.”… https://t.co/rhNSSPKQxo pic.twitter.com/5XJJjgdamm
Users on X reacted angrily to the firing of the Woman last week, calling it “ageism.
One user wrote on X:
“Are you aware that Fran Itkoff, age 90, a Long Beach, CA, volunteer of 60 years(!) was let go of her duties because she did not understand the reason for the new fashion of adding one’s pronouns to communications?”
“This is ageism, compelled speech, and awfully disappointing. Is your corporate team aware of the message this sends out to patients, donors, sponsors, and of course, your remaining volunteers?”
“MS is not a political issue. Don’t let it become one for the sake of “inclusivity.” Take care of Fran Itkoff. Apologize, reinstate her with honors, and have a good chat with the representative who let her go,” the user wrote.
Another person wrote:
“Not another dollar to the MS Society until they reinstate Fran Itkoff and publicly apologize for their abusive treatment of this 90-year-old dedicated volunteer.”
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