Sprint Calls Man "Sissyboy Kelvin Gay Matthews" But That's Not Why I'm Mad

Over the weekend, Kelvin Matthews, a straight, married man — which, in my mind makes no difference to this story but we’ll get to that — was on the phone with Sprint's customer service department to discuss an account he thought was closed. He’d forgotten his password and the representative said they’d send a new one in an email.

That email was addressed to "Sissyboy Kelvin Gay Matthews."

Why? No one knows, but, as anyone would and should do, Matthews contacted Sprint again; the manager with whom he spoke was shocked, and told him "She couldn't believe it." Sprint, however, did release a statement:

"We have apologized to Mr. Mathews and deeply regret what happened over the weekend. Mr. Mathews should never have received this email from our representative. We have dealt with that employee appropriately."

Hopefully that means the idiot at Sprint who thought s/he was being funny or cute is now in the unemployment line, but, I have other issues with this story.

While I feel sorry for Kelvin Matthews because when you contact a business you should be treated with respect; Sir or madam … Mister, Miss, Missus … you should not be called names, ever … but, and ain’t there always a 'but,' I am offended by the way Matthews has responded to this story.

Matthews, who contacted the media to share his tale, told NBC News that he isn't gay, but even if he was, the salutation would have been unacceptable. And he’s right about that, but … Oh Baby Jeebus, another ‘but’ … Matthews also told NBC:

"I don’t live a homosexual life, I never gave Sprint anything to go on and think that, and even if I did, I don’t think it would be fair to say this on my account."

And there's my issue: I find it annoying that he’s so upset at being called ‘gay’ like it’s such a horrible thing to be called. I mean, his anger isn’t so much at the disrespect of the Sprint employee who changed the automated salutation of the email, but at the fact that he was called gay even though, as he says, he never gave anyone anything to go on to make them think he was gay. In other words, he didn't "act" or "sound" gay, whatever that means.

Look, I’d be pissed off if I was dealing with some company and the email they sent me called me a ‘gay sissyboy,’ but not because I was being called gay, but because it’s rude. Matthews has a right to be offended, but he should be offended at the disrespect, not the name, because, to me, he’s perpetuating the idea that the worst thing you could be called is gay.

It ain’t.

Sidenote: Despite Sprint's offer to open a new account with a free iPhone and two months of complementary service, Matthews says he won't be a Sprint customer again. 

via The Advocate